64 UNDER GREEN LEA VES 
eaten, have been found under one large stone close to 
the water's edge. They will watch, close by, for the 
departure of man or dog they know well when 
these have gone and then they do their work quickly. 
Stoats and weasels are really benefactors to man, 
for they will kill rats and mice in great numbers. 
Pheasants and partridges suffer in like manner as the 
ducks, but to a less extent A lot of wild ducklings 
with their mother is one of the prettiest sights 
possible ; the mother's watchfulness, having to look 
out above and below, is very interesting. You will 
not see the pike close in shore, under the weeds, but 
it is lying there, near where the little birds are 
paddling. I once let a half-fledged sparrow fly out 
of my hand, by accident, over the water. It settled 
on the weeds and fluttered a little ; the weeds moved 
from below, there was a slight opening in the clear 
water, then a plunging splash, and the sparrow was 
gone. Pike that have been shot when the ducks 
paddled have called forth some stiff language from 
the farmer, when their insides were turned out. 
I have seen mice on the moors, but I have never 
seen a rat there. The foxes would have them if they 
tried to settle there. They are found in the fields in 
numbers during harvest time fields that are at the 
foot of the moorland hills ; but that is as far as they 
