BURROW OF THE FOX. 



93 



hira, and made use of his knowledge to cheat them of their breakfast. 

 As soon as the servant poured out the cats' allowance of milk, the Fox 

 would run to the spot and walk about the saucer, well knowing that 

 none of the rightful owners would approach the defiled locality. Day 

 after day the cats lost their milk, until the stratagem was discovered 

 and the milk was placed in a spot where it could not be reached by 

 the Fox. 



The Fox resides in burrows, which it scoops out of the earth by the 

 aid of its strong digging paws, taking advantage of every peculiarity 



The Common Fox. 



of the ground, and contriving, whenever it is possible, to wind its sub- 

 terranean way among the roots of large trees or between heavy stones, 

 lu these "earths," as the burrows are called in the sportsman phrase- 

 ology, the female Fox produces and nurtures her young, which are 

 odd little snub-nosed creatures, resembling almost any animal rather 

 than a Fox. She watches over her offspring with great care, and teaches 

 them by degrees to subsist on animal food, which she and her mate 

 capture for that purpose. 



The color of the common Fox is a reddish fawn, intermixed with 

 black and white hairs. The hair is long and thick, being doubly thick 

 during the colder months of the year, so that the fur of a Fox which 

 is killed in the winter is more valuable than if the animal had been 

 slain in the hot months. The tail, which is technically termed the 

 "brush," is remarkably bushy, and partakes of the tints which pre- 



