SMALL FOLK WITH LIVELY FEET. 



201 



The readiness, however, with which he can escape 

 from a pursuer in an open chase saves him from easy 

 destruction. For any swift-footed 

 animal to catch a rabbit on the 

 run is a rare thing ; one glance at 

 my sketch of the agile creature's 

 footprints in the snow will show 

 what the nature 

 of his flight is. 

 Evidently it is a 

 series of extraor- 

 dinary leaps, with 

 almost all of the force of propulsion 

 exerted by the hind feet. The hind 

 legs of a rabbit move together as per- 

 fectly as if they were joined ; the thrust 

 is sudden, and so wide that the Mnd His enemy, 



Snowy Owl- 

 legs overlap the fore legs, striking the 



snow just beyond and outside of them. In watch- 

 ing the leaps of my pet Manx cat, whose hind legs 



Footprints in the snow. 



were remarkably long 

 always noticed that 

 he ran like a 

 rabbit, and 

 " doubled 

 up" like 

 those run- 



and well developed, 



