HOW HE PROVIDES A STRONGHOLD. 51 



I stopped the vehicle, and having my rifle, I put it in order, 

 and made an effort to get within shot of him ; but from the 

 great depth of the snow, I was soon obliged to give up 

 the attempt. Whilst pondering whether I should fire at so 

 great a distance or not, I observed my wily friend suddenly to 

 leap six or eight feet nearly perpendicularly into the air, and 

 come down, head foremost, with such force that he was buried 

 up to the shoulders. Whilst performing this feat, his tail and 

 hind-legs dangling, he presented so extraordinary an appear- 

 ance, that I could not refrain from laughing. The cause of 

 this singular manoeuvre, is hard to say ; but the probability 

 is, that he either heard or scented some living animal, such 

 as partridges, or rats, beneath the snow, which he cunningly 

 calculated might be captured by a coup de surprise ; whereas, 

 if attempted to be got at by the slower process of burrowing, 

 it would probably in the meanwhile make its escape. But 

 whether he succeeded in getting hold of anything on this par- 

 ticular occasion, I could not observe, owing to the distance." 



" A certain Jagare," we are again told, " who was one morn- 

 ing keeping watch in the forest, saw a fox cautiously making 

 his approach towards the stump of an old tree. When suffi- 

 ciently near he took a high and determined jump on to the 

 top of it, and after looking around a while, hopped to the ground 

 again. After Reynard had repeated 'this knightly exercise 

 several times he went his way ; but presently he returned 

 to the spot bearing a pretty large and heavy piece of dry oak 

 in his mouth ; and thus burthened, and as it would seem for 

 the purpose of testing his vaulting powers, he renewed his 

 leaps on to the stump. After a time, however, and when 

 he found that, weighted as he was, he could make the ascent 

 with facility, he desisted from further efforts, dropped the 



E 2 



