46 



THE RAT 



such a thing were to happen to you, how startled 

 you would be ; if you sat down nicely in your 

 chair, and then ' Bang !' came the plate of porridge 

 and bit you in the neck. Unfortunately, his 

 feathers were too thick for her to catch hold 

 properly, or she would have taught him better 

 manners. Four or five times he jumped up into 

 the air and tried to pounce down on poor brave 

 mother, but she was always too quick for him and 

 jumped out of the way ; and every time that he just 

 missed her, she jumped back at him, and did her 

 best to catch hold, but she could only get feathers. 

 1 almost forgot the deadly nature of the contest 

 and laughed, when I saw her spluttering the 

 feathers out of her mouth. And then a man came 

 round the corner, luckily without a dog or a gun, 

 and the hawk had to fly away and look for his 

 breakfast somewhere else, and mammy popped 

 back quickly into the hedge, rather exhausted, but 

 very proud of her victory. We always call it a 

 victory in our country when we are not beaten. 

 When we win, it is ' a glorious victory,' and when 

 we lose but get safe away, then it is 'a moral 

 victory.' AVhen we are beaten and eaten too, then 

 one of the pohte expressions comes in, unless we 

 call it ' a slight reverse.' 



