242 THE RABBIT. 



in the case of a mother defending her young, this 

 creature has no heart whatever. When pursued, 

 it trusts to a short burst of speed taking it to 

 the sanctuary of its burrow, and if foiled in any 

 way and unable to find immediate shelter, it at 

 once loses heart. I have known a rabbit, on find- 

 ing its burrow closed, to begin immediately to run 

 in foolish circles, screaming piteously, though its 

 pursuer was nothing more fleet and formidable 

 than a small boy, into whose hands the creature 

 ultimately fell ! 



A rabbit's first dash for cover is exceedingly 

 swift ; but a hare, on the other hand, nurses and 

 reserves its strength. It has no place of shelter to 

 which to flee, and can look for escape only in the 

 length of the chase. A hare starts off easily to 

 test the speed of its pursuers ; if they begin to close, 

 it accelerates slightly ; if they prove really fast, it 

 resorts to dodging ; and in this way it will foil, for 

 minutes on end, a pair of dogs considerably swifter 

 than itself. The twists and turns tire the dogs, rob 

 their speed of its keenest edge, and when the hare 

 runs straight again it is found that the pursuers 

 can no longer gain. A hare will run till it dies ; 

 a rabbit often dies because it has not the heart to 

 run. A rabbit is beaten as soon as it is foiled ; a 

 hare is never beaten. I have seen an exhausted 

 hare, simply encompassed by men and dogs, settle 

 down to dodging and manoeuvring though its fate 

 seemed inevitably sealed, till finally it triumphed 

 over the seemingly hopeless odds, and by its own 

 pluck and tenacity gained its freedom. On the 

 other hand, a rabbit, losing sight of immediate 

 shelter, becomes undecided which way to run, and 

 either gives up all attempt at escape, or creeps into 

 a hiding so absurdly insecure that the result is 



