THE HART AND HIS NATURE 35 



(cunning) to save himself than any other beast 

 or man, for there is not such a good hunter in 

 the world that can think of the great malice and 

 gynnes (tricks or ruses) that a hart can do, and 

 there is no such good hunter nor such good 

 hounds, but that many times fail to slay the hart, 

 and that is by his wit and his malice and by his 

 gins. 



As of the hinds some be barren and some bear 

 calves, of those that be barren their season begin- 

 neth when the season of the hart faileth and 

 lasteth till Lent. And they which bear calves, 

 in the morning when she shall go to her lair she 

 will not remain with her calf, but she will hold 

 (keep) him and leave him a great way from her, 

 and smiteth him with the foot and maketh him 

 to lie down, and there the calf shall remain always 

 while the hind goeth to feed. And then she 

 shall call her calf in her language and he shall 

 come to her. And that she doeth so that if she 

 were hunted her calf might be saved and that he 

 should not be found near her. The harts have 

 more power to run well from the entry of May 

 into St. John's tide 1 than any other time, for then 

 they have put on new flesh and new hair and new 

 heads, for the new herbs and the new coming out 

 (shoots) of trees and of fruits and be not too 

 heavy, for as yet they have not recovered their 

 1 Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24. 



