THE LIFE OF MAMMALS 
excellent picture of these wiles, and poor Bunny’s efforts to meet 
them, may be read in Seton’s tale of ‘‘Raggylug,” and in such 
delightful writings as those of Audubon and Bachman, God- 
man, Kennicott, Lockwood, Abbott, Robinson, Sharp, Cram, 
and some others. Even the least of the tribe, however, is able 
to make a defense which often completely disconcerts the foe, 
and the means are found in its strong hind feet. Mr. Sharp” 
gives an American illustration: — 
“Molly feeds the family shortly after nightfall, and always tucks them 
in when leaving, with the caution to lie quiet and still. She is not often 
surprised with her young, but lingers near on guard. You can easily tell 
if you are in the neighborhood of her nest by the way she thumps and 
watches you, and refuses to be driven off. Here she waits, and if anything 
smaller than a dog appears she rushes to meet it, stamping the ground in 
fury. A dog she will intercept by leaving a warm trail across his path, or, 
in case the brute has no nose for her scent, by throwing herself in front of 
him and drawing him off on a long chase. 
“One day as I was quietly picking strawberries on a hill, I heard a 
curious grunting down the side below me, then the quick thud/ thud! of 
an angry rabbit. Among the bushes I caught a glimpse of rabbit ears. A 
fight wason. Crouching beside a bluish spot, which I knew to be a rabbit’s 
nest, was a big yellow cat. He had discovered the young ones, and making 
mouths at the thought of how they would taste, when the mother’s thump 
startled him. He squatted flat, with ears back, tail swelled, and hair 
standing up along his back, as the rabbit leaped over him. It was a glimpse 
of Molly’s ears as she made the jump that I had caught. It was the be- 
ginning of the bout — only a feint by the rabbit, just to try the mettle of 
her antagonist. The cat was scared, and before he got himself together, 
Molly with a mighty bound was in the air again, and, as she flashed over 
him, she fetched him a stunning whack on the head that knocked him end- 
wise. He was on his feet in an instant, but just in time to receive a stinging 
blow on the ear that sent him sprawling several feet down the hill. The 
rabbit seemed constantly in the air. Back and forth, over and over the cat 
she fled, and with every bound landed a terrific kick with her powerful 
hind feet, that was followed by a puff of yellow fur. The cat could not 
stand up to this. Every particle of breath and fight was knocked out of 
him at about the third kick. The green light in his eyes was the light of 
412 
