THE BADGER 63 



not any great height, but of vast bulk, the great limbs 

 reaching far over the open space. In the middle of 

 the hollow, under the roots of this oak, our " friar of 

 orders grey " has made his home, and a very secure 

 and pleasant one it is. 



When the moon is high up in the sky, and throws 

 a soft silvery blue tone on the tops of the firs which 

 line the side of the glade, the glade itself showing 

 like a bright blue-green stripe, and nothing is heard 

 but the jar of the fern-owl as he flits over the glade, 

 or the drone of some beetle as he flies along, then is 

 the time for our friend the badger to come out and 

 see how the world looks in the moonlight. 



He has left his hole, and there he stands in the 

 full light of the moon, the great limbs of the oak 

 throwing chequered shadows around him on the 

 greensward and on the exposed surface of the chalk 

 here and there. The greater portion of the sides of 

 the hollow nearest his home is covered with foxgloves 

 and trailing bramble. He looks round about him 

 for a few seconds, and sniffs, just to find out if any- 

 thing peculiar is in the air ; then, finding matters all 

 right, as he thinks, he gives himself a scratch or two 

 and a good shake, and deliberately waddles off to 

 get something to eat ; a very easy matter at this time 

 of the year, for on a warm summer night all kinds of 



