VICKY, THE FOX 473 



milk, for he would have been suckled in the ordinary way for that time. Then 

 gradually, and with some difficulty, he had to be introduced to his regular diet, 

 which came to consist at last of rabbits as his chief article of food, though he did not 

 draw the line at other flesh when he came across it. Rats and mice, frogs, even 

 beetles and grubs, never came amiss, and what he would have enjoyed more than 

 anything, had he been allowed, was a nice ripe piece of carrion ! 



Vicky speedily became very tame, though he always preferred the society of 

 ladies to that of gentlemen. As a cub he was a delightful ball of greyish-brown 

 fur, with no particular markings ; but as he grew up the fur darkened to a warmer 

 tint from yellow-brown to red on his back and sides, shading off to white beneath. 

 Black nose, black feet, black ears, and a tail tipped with white made up his full 

 grown-up costume. 



He often uttered a curious little whine when a baby, but at play gave vent to a 

 series of little sharp barks like a puppy. He was absolutely bursting with life and 

 energy, and gloried in the maddest, most frolicsome games with his two-legged 

 friends. 



He had the run of the house, and used to play hide-and-seek in and out of the 

 rooms, through the hall, to the umbrella stand, where he would hide himself behind 

 the thick undergrowth of " mushes " and sticks. When hunted out of that, he would 

 dash back, perhaps to the drawing-room, where he would take flying leaps over 

 chairs and stools and occasional tables. By the side of the fireplace there used to 

 be a foot- warmer made of the skin of a fox, and to Vicky this was a hateful rival and 

 a deadly foe. Sometimes he would stalk it from the shelter of the fender, and then 

 leap upon it with what answers in baby -fox language for a ferocious roar ; at other 

 times he would worry it savagely, shaking it as a terrier does a rat until its weight 

 overbalanced him and he toppled headlong into it. 



Unfortunately, though he was kept spotlessly clean, it was impossible to keep 

 him free from smell ! That scent gland, which he possessed in common with so 

 many of his family, was so often in evidence, especially when he was excited, that 

 he had to be kept out of doors on a light chain, and only allowed within as a special 

 treat. 



So tame was he, however, that whenever he could sneak indoors unobserved 

 he did so. He had plenty of exercise in the grounds of his owner's house, where he 

 would enjoy a mad rush from tree to tree and back again, in accordance with the 

 laws of young foxes' sport, which is to make a track between two chosen points 

 and have innumerable races and chases to and fro. He hunted a ball with intense 

 enjoyment, but his favourite toy was a highly smelly rabbit skin, which he would 

 mouth and shake and toss madly in the air. 



His special treat was to be taken to a neighbouring warren and let go. Here he 

 simply revelled in diving as far as he could into one hole after another, chasing 

 imaginary rabbits and very occasionally real ones. Of this recreation he never 

 tired ; if one hole appeared empty, he would emerge backwards, shake himself 

 and plunge into the next one. Then he would check himself, and sit up, contracting 

 the pupil of the eye until it was a mere slit. Coming to the conclusion that it really 

 was a rabbit he saw concealed in a distant tuft of grass, he would break into a 

 headlong gallop for it, and repeat this manreuvre until he was so hot that his tongue 

 would be lolling from his mouth. 



Such was Vicky, the fox, when loose. When he was picked up and petted, he 

 would cock his head on one side with ears erect, and a most knowing air, and play- 



