THE SHADOW DANCE. 



HERE are few more familiar objects seen amid the fields, than the little, 

 lively rabbits. How rapidly they speed across the sward, their long hind- 

 legs propelling them onwards in prodigious leaps, apparently with little 

 or no effort on the part of the animal. Ever and anon they check their course 

 suddenly, and sitting upright, with ears erect, listen intently for any hostile sound, 

 scanning at the same time with a not uncomical scrutiny, everything within the 

 range of their limited vision. Playful in disposition, many are the eccentric move- 

 ments performed by them when on moonlight nights they assemble together, and 

 gambol over the smooth turf. Unprovided by nature with any means of defence 

 against their enemies, which are many and powerful, the rabbits are obliged to rely 

 solely upon their speed to enable them to escape all pursuers. 



These little animals are very sociable, and fond of living together, and their 

 warrens, as assemblages of their habitations are called, frequently contain hundreds 

 of individuals. Their galleries extend sometimes for great distances, and little tunnels 

 ramify in all directions, with many an opening to the surface, thus affording the 

 inmates numerous avenues of escape. These apertures do not always give direct 

 access to the nests, but they serve rather as entrance-halls, from which, at intervals, 

 other lanes lead to secluded spots in which the young are reared. 



Rabbits are chiefly nocturnal in their habits, although it is not unusual for 

 them to seek their food by day. But at the going down of the sun they com- 



