Birds and Beasts that Bluff 



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borrow the simile from them when we say of a 

 truculent fellow that he "bristles up." That 

 is the notion of a wolf or dog when he lifts his 

 hackles and rises on tip-toe to meet his chal- 

 lenger ; and of puss when she sets every hair on 

 end, arches her spine and swells her tail to 

 thrice its peaceful girth. 



When the fight actually comes on they forget 

 all these blustering preparations, which were 

 merely terrifying tactics, like the bellowing and 

 pawing of a bull, the war-paint and rattles of 

 the Indian, or the yelling and firecrackers of 

 the Chinese before a battle. 



The porcupine is one of the best of the blus- 

 terers, for he not only turns himself into a liv- 

 ing chestnut burr, but rattles his quills against 

 one another like some mediaeval knight jangling 

 all his war harness as he enters the joust to pro- 

 claim how impregnable he is and at the same time 

 to hearten himself up a bit. If the porcupine 

 shivered with fright the same rattling of the hol- 

 low quills would follow, and perhaps, if the truth 

 were known, that is really what happens. At 

 any rate he doesn't shoot his quills as the old 

 $ 125 



