Fox - Ways. 2 1 



he has seen him catching crabs there in a very novel 

 way. Finding a quiet bit of water where the crabs 

 are swimming about, he trails his brush over the sur- 

 face till one rises and seizes it with his claw (a most 

 natural thing for a crab to do), whereupon the fox 

 springs away, jerking the crab to land. Though a 

 fox ordinarily is careful as a cat about wetting his 

 tail or feet, I shall not be surprised to find some day 

 for myself that the fisherman was right. Reynard is 

 very ingenious, and never lets his little prejudices 

 stand in the way when he is after a dinner. 



His way of beguiling a duck is more remarkable 

 than his fishing. Late one afternoon, while following 

 the shore of a pond, I noticed a commotion among 

 some tame ducks, and stopped to see what it was about. 

 They were swimming in circles, quacking and stretch- 

 ing their wings, evidently in great excitement. A few 

 minutes' watching convinced me that something on 

 the shore excited them. Their heads were straight 

 up from the water, looking fixedly at something that 

 I could not see ; ever)^ circle brought them nearer 

 the bank. I walked towards them, not very cau- 

 tiously, I am sorry to say ; for the farmhouse where 

 the ducks belonged was in plain sight, and I was not 

 expecting anything unusual. As I glanced over the 

 bank something slipped out of sight into the tall 

 grass. I followed the waving tops intently, and 



