LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



favourite tricks on scenting danger is to sink into 

 the water and come up beneath a drifting mass 

 of rubbish, sometimes the merest handful being 

 made to serve. I am convinced that sometimes, 

 when no other concealment offers, one will take 

 a wisp of long grass in its teeth and, stemming 

 the current with a fish-like movement of its tail, 

 allow the loose ends of the grass to drag back 

 over it for protection. They usually do this 

 sort of thing close to the bank where the current 

 is slowest ; on being disturbed they dive with a 

 slight splash and reappear a few feet away in the 

 same position, with only the slightest ripple to 

 betray them. At other times, when the wind is 

 blowing, you may see one floating on his stomach 

 with his tail held stiffly up, perhaps an inch above 

 the surface of the water, evidently to serve the 

 purpose of a sail ; they manage somehow to hold 

 themselves at right angles to the direction of the 

 wind, and make considerable headway without 

 any visible exertion. 



192 



