MARY'S LITTLE LAMB 131 



part was to go frisking about from burrow to 

 burrow, now taking a flying leap over the pit-like 

 mouth, then diving down to see how things were 

 progressing inside, where the dog was tearing at 

 the earth and trying to force himself in and keep- 

 ing up a running dialogue of threats and insults 

 with the beast inside. 



But though Libby, in these her dog days, was a 

 continual joy to us, we thought it best for her own 

 sake to put an end to them. For in spite of her 

 activities she was in very good condition, and any 

 poor gaucho who came upon her, hunting with our 

 dogs a few miles from home, would be justified in 

 saying : " Here is a good fat animal without an 

 ear-mark, consequently without an owner ; and 

 though I find it in the company of Neighbour 

 So-and-So's dogs, it can't be his since he has put 

 no mark on it, and as I've found it I have a right 

 to it, and I'm quite sure from its appearance that 

 its flesh when roasted will prove tender and 

 savoury." 



Accordingly we took Libby away from her 

 companions and put her with the flock, where in 

 due time she would learn that a sheep is a sheep 

 and not a dog. 



There are, I imagine, few old sportsmen, field 

 naturalists, and observers of animal life generally 

 who have not met with similar instances of animals 

 of widely different natures, in some instances 



