'MY INFANCY^ 



49 



the man walking away carrying the rabbit, and the 

 weasel hopping along through the rough grass 

 beside the hedge. I expect he got that bunny at 

 last. 



W ell, I must come back to my sad ending. Once 

 or twice we heard mother jump forward, and 

 once there was a squeak from her deadly enemy ; 

 only a little squeak, however, which meant that he 

 was hurt, but not badly. And then there was an 

 awful bumping, and mother began to squeak — 

 horribly and hideously at first, and then more and 

 more faintly, and at last we could only hear the 

 sound of sucking. And we knew that it was all 

 over, and that the weasel was drinking her blood. 

 Poor, brave mother ! that was all. The weasel 

 had enough, and did not try to come on after us ; 

 and that is how mother saved our lives again, but 

 lost her own. 



We stayed there for a long time, and then 

 burrowed our way past her cold corpse, and left 

 her and the nest and our infancy for ever, and went 

 out into a cold and cruel world. 



4 



