CONFINED TO THE HOVER 5 



they fell asleep and forgot their sunny couch on 

 the grass. The incident troubled the otter so 

 greatly that, resisting all their importunities, she 

 never again exposed them to the risk of capture. 

 To break the monotony of the hover, the cubs, 

 as their limbs grew stronger, would, in the 

 intervals of sleep, clamber to the wide parapet of 

 the nest and take note of the things that moved 

 within their narrow field : of trembling grasses, 

 of the bramble spray that moved to and fro in 

 the current, of the reeds that nodded in the wind, 

 and, above all, of the creatures that visited the 

 stream to feed or quench their thirst. They 

 watched every step taken by the snipe, every 

 thrust of his long bill; they regarded with 

 wonder the gay kingfisher that perched on their 

 ledge and fished in their pool ; they were moved 

 to the keenest curiosity by the old dog-fox, who 

 stole from the reeds to drink and set their young 

 nostrils working with his strong scent. When 

 sure of their footing, with pads outstretched and 

 every webbed toe expanded they advanced to 

 the very edge of the nest, pushed their dusky 

 grey heads through the grassy curtain, and looked 

 down at the eddy gurgling below, contemplating 

 the element in which their lives would be spent 

 and whose every change they were to know. 



