LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



I wonder now I had the heart to interrupt it. 

 But I did, and chased the fox away, and then 

 returned to the house for a gun, though without 

 much idea of seeing anything more of the fox, 

 who I supposed was miles away in the woods 

 and still running. 



But he was not so badly scared as I had 

 fancied, for on coming back with the gun I 

 encountered him unexpectedly, close to the hen- 

 yard fence, in the act of swinging the hen 

 across his shoulders with its neck in his teeth. 

 It was the regular thing for him to do of course, 

 though this only made it all the more sur- 

 prising in real life. And he did it so perfectly, 

 too, — just as he is represented as doing in pic- 

 ture-books, and as if he had been in the habit 

 of doing it every day of his life. 



I have never seen a more perfect personi- 

 fication of justifiable pride and satisfaction over 

 a successful kill than he exhibited, marching 

 down the garden with the utmost deliberation, 



32 



