184 GLIMPSES OF WILD LIFE 



day the dog, ^ho had all along looked upon 

 him with a jealous eye, encountered him too 

 far from cover, and his career ended then and 

 there. 



In July the woodchuck was forgotten in our 

 interest in a little gray rabbit which we found 

 nearly famished. It was so small that it could 

 sit in the hollow of one's hand. Some accident 

 had probably befallen its mother. The tiny 

 creature looked spiritless and forlorn. We had 

 to force the milk into its mouth. But in a day 

 or two it began to revive, and would lap the 

 milk eagerly. Soon it took to grass and clover, 

 and then to nibbling sweet apples and early 

 pears. It grew rapidly, and was one of the 

 softest and most harmless-looking pets I had 

 ever seen. For a month or more the little 

 rabbit was the only company I had, and it 

 helped to beguile the time immensely. In 

 coming in from the field or from my work, I 

 seldom failed to bring it a handful of red clover 

 blossoms, of which it became very fond. One 

 day it fell slyly to licking my hand, and I dis- 

 covered it wanted salt. I would then moisten 

 my fingers, dip them into the salt, and offer 

 them to the rabbit. How rapidly the delicate 

 little tongue would play upon them, darting out 

 to the right and left of the large front incisors, 

 the slender paws being pressed against my hand 

 as if to detain it ! But the rabbit proved really 

 untamable; its wild nature could not be over- 

 come. In its large box-cage or prison, where 

 it could see nothing but the tree above it, it 



