A Bold Fox. 187 
place of concealment. No doubt the presence of a 
rabbit in it was the cause of the fox entering in the 
first place. The rabbit must have had a very bad 
time of it, for, the drain being closed at the other end 
with an iron grating, no possibility of escape existed. 
From the traces in the grass and on the dry mud 
at the mouth it appeared as if the fox had ventured 
there more than once; and, as there were many 
chickens about, his object in lying here was evident. 
The great hedge being so near, and the narrow space 
between full of tall mowing grass—the edge of the 
ha-ha wall, too, clothed with stonecrop and grasses. 
growing in the interstices of the loose stones, and ; 
further sheltered by a low box hedge—it was a place 
almost made on purpose for Reynard’s cunning am- 
buscade. He is as bold or even bolder than he is 
cunning. A young dog sent up the drain came back 
quicker than he went, and refused to venture a second 
time. The fox remained there all day, and of course 
‘made tracks’ at night, knowing that his presence 
had been discovered by the commotion and talking 
at the mouth of his cave. He might easily have been 
captured, but that was not attempted on account of 
the hunt. 
Though the fox as a general rule sleeps during 
the day, he does not always, but sometimes makes a 
successful foray in broad daylight. owls, for in- 
stance, at night roost in the sheds at some height 
from the ground—often the sheds are contrived 
