104 THE LION KILLER. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE JACKAL AND THE FOX. 



THE JACKAL. 



The jackal, like the hyena, belongs more properly to the 

 omnivorous than the carnivorous species among which it has 

 been classed. He lives at the expense of the gardener, whose 

 fruit and vegetables he steals, and of the shepherd, who after 

 the lion, regards him as his greatest enemy. 



On unlucky days, he turns to roots, worms and clay, or 

 searches among the refuse and filth around the Arab camps. 

 The Arabs say, cunning as a jackal. In fact, this animal, a 

 cross between a wolf and fox, is, like the latter, a cunning 

 rogue. He will pass entire days behind a bush, near a 

 stream, awaiting the approach of a covey of partridges. He 

 profits by the moment when the dogs within the encampment 

 are asleep, under the fatigue of having watched and barked 

 all night, to pass through the sleeping crowd and enter a tent, 

 from which he will take either a lamb or chicken, or whatever 

 he may find suited to his taste. In the mountain he will 

 follow a flock of sheep, and many is the one, that, straying 



