84 THE FOX. 



much excitement. Perchance one turkey is minus 

 her tail, the fox having succeeded in getting only a 

 mouthful of quills. 



As the brood grows and their wings develop, they 

 wander far from the house in quest of grasshoppers. 

 At such times they are all watchfulness and suspicion. 

 Crossing the fields one day, attended by a dog that 

 much resembled a fox, I came suddenly upon a brood 

 about one third grown, which were feeding in a past- 

 ure just beyond a wood. It so happened that they 

 caught sight of the dog without seeing me, when in- 

 stantly, with the celerity of wild game, they launched 

 into the air, and, while the old one perched upon a 

 tree-top, as if to keep an eye on the supposed enemy, 

 the young went sailing over the trees towards home. 



The two hounds above referred to, accompanied by 

 a cur-dog, whose business it was to mind the farm, 

 but who took as much delight in running away from 

 prosy duty as if he had been a school-boy, would fre- 

 quently steal off and have a good hunt all by them- 

 selves, just for the fun of the thing, I suppose. I 

 more than half suspect that it was as a kind of taunt 

 or retaliation, that Reynard came and took the geese 

 from under their very noses. One morning they 

 went off and stayed till the afternoon of the next 

 day ; they ran the fox all day and all night, the 

 hounds baying at every jump, the cur-dog silent and 

 tenacious. When the trio returned they came drag- 

 ging themselves along, stiff, foot-sore, gaunt, and 

 hungry. For a day or two afterward they lay about 



