144 



THE RAT 



the shelter of that hedge, and herons are most 

 dangerous birds ; they can spHt a rat's skull with 

 a tap of that great beak, and will split it, too, if 

 you come anywhere near to them. Nor is it always 

 easy to avoid them, with those great long legs of 

 theirs, looking exactly like two pieces of stick, as 

 you come swimming in to the bank, and their 

 plumage, especially when you see it from under 

 water, exactly the colour of a cloud in the sky ; 

 and all well-trained rats, whether they be water- 

 rats or land-rats, approach a bank under water 

 unless they see that the coast is quite clear. Yqu 

 may say good-bye to life if once you come within 

 reach of a heron's beak. 



Having thus condemned my temporary dwelling- 

 place as unsuitable for a permanent residence, my 

 next business was to find a really safe site for a 

 home, as I intended to make rather a lengthy stay. 

 What I had in my eye was a place where I could 

 make myself thoroughly comfortable, and at the 

 same time where no one would think of looking for 

 a rat. The latter was the more important considera- 

 tion of the two, for when you once get underground 

 you can make yourself pretty comfortable anywhere, 

 if only you will take the trouble to dig well and 

 carry in plenty of bedding. The great thing is to 



