THE COMMON RABBIT 179 



mouthfuls she took contained leaves as well as 

 grass. At last she returned to eat, first shaking 

 her fore-feet and flipping her hind, as if pleased 

 at getting the nest making done. 



On hunting the plantation I found her nest, 

 a newly scratched-out hole, the mouth of which 

 was littered with freshly gathered bits of grass. 

 The next morning the tunnel was sealed up; the 

 soil had been scratched back over the entrance 

 and firmly padded down so as to block it up. 

 Evidently the family had arrived, and one could 

 picture the wee pink mites lying at the end of 

 that dark hole warmly wrapped up in their 

 blanket of fur and grass. I also pictured the damage 

 they would do by and by in the garden ! But 

 as I was leaving the plantation something bright 

 caught my attention. It was the eye of a rabbit, 

 which was sitting hidden in its form or, as the 

 country people call it, its " squat " under a 

 thick brier bush. It was undoubtedly the doe. 

 She was practically invisible, for a rabbit's coat 

 blends so perfectly with its surroundings that 

 it is almost impossible to distinguish it from the 

 soil, the dead undergrowth, and the shadows 

 thrown by the foliage. I left her in peace and 

 told no tales. Some six weeks after there were 

 great complaints of the mischief rabbits were 

 doing in the kitchen-garden ! 



The doe rabbit never lies with her family, but 

 invariably leaves them safely shut into their 

 hole while she retreats to a distance, spending the 

 greater part of the day motionless in a form, where 



