How Animals Talk 



in plain sight. For to stand motionless without 

 concealment is often the best way to deceive a 

 wild animal, which habitually associates life with 

 motion. 



No more drowsiness for that buck! He was 

 startled, plainly enough; but he rose to his feet 

 very stealthily, not stirring a leaf, and stood at 

 tense attention. When he turned his head to 

 look over his shoulder behind him I raised my 

 field-glass, for I wanted to read his thought, if 

 possible, in his eyes. As he turned his gaze my 

 way again his nose seemed to sweep my face. It 

 rested there a moment full on the lens of my glass, 

 moved on, and returned for a longer inspection. 

 Then he glided past, still without recognizing me, 

 testing the air at every springy step, harking this 

 way, looking that way, and disappearing at last 

 as if he trod on eggs. 



From such experiences I judge that the feeling 

 of unsensed danger, or the more subtle feel of a 

 living thing, is as variable in the animals as are 

 their instincts or their social habits. It may be 

 dull in one creature and keen in another of the 

 same species, or alternately awake and asleep in 

 the same creature; but there is no longer any 

 doubt in my mind that it is a widespread gift 

 among birds and beasts. When it appears occa- 

 sionally among men, therefore, it is to be regarded 



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