122 WOODLAND CREATURES 



At first they only had a few drops of milk at 

 each meal, but as I lengthened the intervals I 

 gave them more at a time. It was undiluted 

 new milk, and appeared to suit them, for they 

 throve on it, growing fast, and being always 

 hungry. Even at this early age they were fascinat- 

 ing little things, there was something so appealing 

 about their helplessness and in the way after 

 they had fed they would lie in my hands and go 

 to sleep. When put back in the basket they 

 promptly crawled and wriggled on to the top of 

 the water-bottle, where they lay full length, either 

 side by side or one on the top of the other. The 

 dog cub, who was called Jack, was decidedly 

 bigger and more forward than Toby, though she 

 was the first to open her eyes. This was not until 

 the I7th of April, that is the twelfth day after 

 I had them, when I should assume her to be 

 fourteen days old ; however, it was but one eye, 

 and only half open at that. Her eyes were not 

 properly open until the 22nd, when, according to 

 my calculation, she would be nineteen days old. 

 The slowness of the development of fox-cubs in 

 this respect is similar to that of polecats, ferrets, 

 stoats, etc. ; possibly it has something to do 

 with preventing the young ones straying out of 

 the hole when their mother is away, and while they 

 are yet too young to run back at the approach 

 of danger. 



Before Toby had reached this stage a sad mishap 

 had taken place Jack had caught cold and had 

 died suddenly. I was entirely to blame, He had 



