ANIMAL GOSSIP 



A large dog-town presents a curious sight to anybody 

 who approaches very cautiously so that the animals do not 

 observe him. As far as the eye can reach it rests upon the 

 same gay, animated, happy scene. Everywhere you may 

 see the little animals, sitting up like squirrels, on the top of 

 their mounds, waving their tails from side to side and yelping 

 to each other cheerfully, until they produce quite a concert 

 of sound. 



But as you draw nearer, if you listen carefully you will hear 

 a different note from the old and more experienced animals, 

 and that is the signal for the whole company to disappear 

 in a moment into the burrows. Here and there, however, 

 you may still perceive a sentinel peeping out and " barking " 

 to warn his comrades that a man is approaching. 



If you hide and wait patiently for some time, the sentinels 

 will again mount up to their posts of observation on the 

 hillocks, and announce in the same way that the danger is 

 past, whereupon the animals come out of their burrows 

 one after another and begin to play about as before. One 

 respectable old fellow goes to visit a neighbour who is 

 sitting on the top of his mound and seems, by the way in 

 which he waves his tail about, to be inviting his friend to sit 

 down beside him. All the while they keep uttering the 

 peculiar sound which for want of a better word we may 

 term a bark or yelp; you would think they were ex- 

 changing opinions on the latest news. After an animated 

 conversation of this kind they will perhaps go into the house 

 for a moment, and on coming out again proceed both 

 together to call upon another neighbour, who is apparently 

 very glad to see them and joins them in their walk. On 

 the way they meet other friends and stay with them 

 awhile, whereupon the party breaks up and they all go 

 home. 



