Fox - Ways. 5 



" On the way back, I '11 swing round by the Fales 

 place, and take a sniff under the wall by the old 

 hickory, to see if those sleepy skunks are still there 

 for the winter. I '11 have that whole family before 

 spring, if I 'm hungry and can't find anything else. 

 They come out on sunny days ; all you have to do is 

 just hide behind the hickory and watch." 



So off he goes on his well-planned hunt ; and if 

 you follow his track to-morrow in the snow, you will 

 see how he has gone from one hunting ground direct!)- 

 to the next. You will find the depression where he 

 lay in a clump of tall dead grass and watched a while 

 for the rabbit ; reckon the number of mice he caught 

 in the meadow; see his sly tracks about the chicken 

 coop, and in the orchard; and pause a moment at the 

 spot where he cast a knowing look behind the hickory 

 by the wall, — all just as he planned it on his way to 

 the brook. 



If, on the other hand, you stand by one of his run- 

 ways while the dogs are dri\-ing him, expecting, of 

 course, to see him come tearing along in a desperate 

 hurry, frightened out of half his wits by the savage 

 uproar behind him, you can only rub your eyes in 

 wonder when a fluffy yellow ball comes drifting 

 through the woods towards you, as if the breeze 

 were blowing it along. There he is, trotting down 

 the runway in the same leisurely, self-possessed way. 



