LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



may occasionally catch small fish in the shallows 

 at the edge of the rapids. 



I have never witnessed an exhibition of their 

 swimming powers, but have no doubt that they 

 would prove fairly adept on occasion, being, to 

 all outward appearance at least, much better 

 adapted for it than most of our land animals. 



Weasels of all kinds have always borne the 

 reputation of being the most extravagantly cruel 

 and bloodthirsty creatures living ; and this is 

 undoubtedly true of them in the sense that, ac- 

 cording to their size, they kill more of their 

 fellow-creatures than any other inhabitant of 

 the woods. 



But they never appear to exhibit any of that 

 wanton, idle, cold-blooded cruelty inherent in 

 the cat and fox tribes, the various members of 

 which are so fond of deliberately torturing any 

 little beast or bird that is so unfortunate as to 

 fall into their clutches. 



The flesh of the ermine, like that of the mink, 



