176 WOODLAND CREATURES 



badger will not be deceived. It knows quite 

 well that the neatly padded-down soil indicates 

 a burrow with young ones in it. Its first proceeding 

 on finding such a sealed-up hole is to scratch 

 away the earth lying in and over the mouth, 

 so as to be sure of the direction in which the 

 tunnel goes ; its second, to nose round on the 

 surface until it locates the exact spot under 

 which the little rabbits are lying. So keen is 

 its sense of smell that it will locate them through 

 a couple of feet of soil. Unless the badger is 

 interrupted in its task, which is not likely, for 

 the rest of the night creatures fear and respect 

 the power of its jaw, the poor young things are 

 doomed ; for, to an animal which is such a 

 powerful digger, a couple of feet of earth is a 

 trifle which is soon scraped away. The poor 

 little rabbits have then but short-shrift : a few 

 crunches of the badger's powerful jaws and they 

 are gone ! The bright light of the rising sun will 

 shine on a hole sunk like a shaft straight down 

 into the soil, on a collection of grass and soft 

 rabbit fur in the bottom, on a few broad pad- 

 marks on the damp earth, and the scratches made 

 by powerful claws on the sides of the hole. This 

 is all that will be left to tell the tale of what passed 

 in the night. 



The fox likewise accounts for a great many 

 young rabbits ; indeed, it is the rabbit's greatest 

 foe, for it persecutes it at all ages, from the naked 

 young in their underground nursery to the period, 

 if it is ever reached, when old age begins to dull 



