THE JAGUAR. 
183 
instead of showing fear, has harked at him 
or perhaps boldly seized him by the mane. 
Cats, and especially those which have lost 
their kittens, have been known to adopt 
rabbits and even young rats; and I myself 
knew of a cat which, compassionating the 
forlorn state of a young and orphaned 
woodchuck, kindly gave it a place among 
her own kittens. My uncle once had a 
large turkey-gobbler which used to collect 
together a large quantity of hens’ eggs, 
hatch them himself and bring up the 
chickens with the greatest care imaginable. 
It is possible that the jaguar, feeling him¬ 
self perfectly secure of his prey, played with 
the children as a cat does with a mouse ; but 
I am more inclined to think that, being 
probably full fed and in good spirits, it was 
inclined to a good-natured frolic, and only 
drew blood by accident, as the best-disposed 
cat will sometimes do.” 
“ What sort of a noise do jaguars make ?” 
asked Daisy. 
“ Their voice is said to resemble the lion’s 
roar more closely than that of any other ani¬ 
mal ; and they are very noisy creatures, roar- 
