A DISH OF HEDGEHOG 231 



other toward the north, and look which of them he 

 stops ; thence will come great storms and winds 

 follow." The badger in his winter retreat certainly 

 will block up holes from which draughts blow. 



Though hibernating hedgehogs will remain above 



ground all the winter, in the hollows where leaves 



to cover them have accumulated, most retire 



A Dish to the rabbit-burrows. They are seldom 



of Hedge- , , 



h0 g. found when ferreting operations are going 



forward, because the ferrets do not care to 

 have dealings with them though when hedgehogs 

 are skinned or opened, ferrets relish their flesh as 

 food. Keepers do not care to carry hedgehogs 

 home, on account of the many unpleasant things 

 that they distribute between himself and his ferrets. 

 It is true that gipsies and others eat hedgehogs, and 

 this is the time when they are in season for those 

 who appreciate them, being at their fattest, as are 

 all creatures about to retire for the winter. Gipsies 

 caught trespassing at this time of year are always 

 ready with the excuse that they are searching merely 

 for hedgehogs even if dogs and nets and ferrets 

 happen to be in their possession. That they prefer 

 hedgehog to rabbit is a tale for a grandmother. Yet 

 they know well how to make a tasty dish of hedge- 

 hog. They burn off the bristles, split the prickly 

 beast down his back, and broil him on a forked stick 

 over a fire of wood. That is the quickest and cleanest 



