The Fox 87 



Troublesome Neighbours ^:^ o 



HAVING by this time learnt from my mother 

 all that she could teach me, I followed her 

 example in many things. Amongst them I remarked, 

 that on a wet and windy night she almost always 

 chose, for various reasons, to lie in a gorse-covert. 

 It is generally dry and without droppings from trees ; 

 it is also more quiet and freer from the roaring of 

 the wind than when near to them. Besides this, we 

 are not so liable to be disturbed by the shooters, 

 and though we should be so, are out of sight. We 

 are also there out of sight of our troublesome 

 feathered neighbours, the crows, magpies, and jays, 

 who would betray us when moving abroad during 

 the daytime. They are always moving with the 

 first appearance of daylight, and we are glad to get 

 out of their sight as soon as we can and go into our 

 kennel, lest they should betray us to the keepers, 

 who are also often abroad at that time. The worst 

 is, that at times, when we think we have got away 

 from hounds that are hunting us, these birds, by 

 making a noise and darting down almost upon us, 

 as they continue to do where we run along, point 

 out to the hunters exactly where we are. 



It has often happened that I have been betrayed 

 by an old cock pheasant. No bird has a quicker 

 eye than he has, and directly he saw me he would 

 begin kuckupping, and continue to make this noise 

 as long as I remained near him, obliging me to 

 move away, 



Thomas Smith. 



