OEDEE OF CAENIVOEA, 389 



ning, whicli has given it great notoriety. "As cunning as 

 a Fox " is one of the most common adages in the languages 

 of nations. 



The Fox never attacks animals capable of resistance. In the 

 twilight it ventures out in quest of its prey, when it wanders 

 silently around the country, prowling about the covers and 

 hedges, hoping to surprise Birds, Rabbits, or Hares, its usual 

 prey. 



In default of such delicate food, however, it will eat Field-Mice, 

 Lizards, Frogs, &c. It does not dislike certain fruits. For 

 grapes it exhibits a great predilection. 



To domestic fowls it is terribly destructive. When during its 

 nocturnal prowling the crow of a Cock strikes its ear, it turns 

 at once in the direction of the welcome sound. It wanders in- 

 cessantly around the poultry-yard, examining, scrutinising, and 

 observing all the weak points by which an entrance might be 

 gained. When at last successful in reaching the hen-roost, 

 a reckless carnage among its occupants is made, and this not 

 so much to satisfy a craving for blood as to provide store for 

 the future. With this object, one bj^ one the victims are carried 

 off, and concealed in the woods or its den. 



If all efforts to enter the hen-roost are unsuccessful, then Jiej- 

 nard undertakes to ruin it in detail, and to slay in one or more 

 months those which he cannot kill in a day. With this intention 

 he installs himself on the margin of a wood, in proximity to the 

 farm, and anxiouslj^ watches every movement of the poultry. If 

 his prey wander into the fields, his attentions are doubled ; seizing 

 the moment when the watch-dog is out of sight, he creeps towards 

 them on his belly, draws near his victim without being seen, 

 seizes, strangles, and carries it off. When these manoeuvres have 

 once succeeded, they are repeated tiU the poultrjr-yard is de- 

 populated. 



The following story, narrated to me by an old woodman, also 

 illustrates their cunning. Two Foxes, located in a neighbour- 

 hood where Hares abounded, adopted an ingenious stratagem 

 for capturing them. One of them lay in ambush on the side of 

 a road ; the other started the quarry and pursued it with ardour, 

 with the object of driving the game into the road guarded by his 

 associate. From time to time, by an occasional bark, the associate 



