8 WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



the prey, and his noiseless flight is frequently more than a match for his keen- 

 scented adversary who, had he but the opportunity, would not hesitate to make a 

 meal of the owl himself 



A few little rabbits are playing upon the glistening snow, tossing it in many a 

 feathery flake into the air, as they gambol over its pure surface. No enemy appears 

 near, and with increasing boldness they roam away from the mouths of their under- 

 ground homes. Slowly sailing over the white fields, on noiseless pinions, the great 

 bird of the night is seeking his evening's meal. Many are the stoops and curves he 

 makes, as he investigates, in his progress, the different objects that catch his eye, to 

 learn if they are suitable for his purpose. Over the frozen plants, each bearing on its 

 few remaining stems a load of the fleecy snow, he comes, straightly steering towards 

 the play-ground of the little quadrupeds, who are all unconscious of the vicinity of their 

 foe. Like a swift cloud, his shadow falls upon them, and the affrighted rabbits dash 

 towards their homes beneath the low bank. But quick as is their speed, still more 

 rapid is their pursuer's flight, and poor bunny is seized by the fur, with the hooked 

 claw. Still he struggles on, a favouring branch at the very mouth of the burrow 

 intervenes, and as his terrified companion leaps over his body to gain the desired 

 refuge,. uttering a shrill cry of fear, the frightened little creature draws the bird's leg 

 against the branch, frees himself from the grasp of the sharp talons, and disappears 

 in the mouth of his wished-for haven., A prowling fox which, before the bird's 

 advent, had been patiently waiting a favourable moment for a spring, looks suddenly 

 up from his hiding place, on hearing the rabbits's piercing scream, just in time to 

 witness its hair-breadth escape. 



