190 
THE STORY OF THE MONGOOSE. 
and looking*, in their quaint and pretty favorite attitude, like tiny dogs beg¬ 
ging. As you approach they look at you fearlessly and impudently, allow¬ 
ing you to come quite close ; then, when their confiding manner has tempted 
you to get down in the wild hope of catching one of them, suddenly all pop 
so swiftly into their little holes that they seem to have disappeared by magic. 
Although in the Cape it appears that the name meerkat is also often 
applied to the thick-tailed mungoose, it is the true meerkat alone which 
makes such a charming pet. The quaint, old-fashioned little fellow is as 
neatly made as a small bird; his coat, of the softest fur, with markings not 
unlike those of a tabby cat, is always well kept and spotlessly clean; his tiny 
feet, ears and nose are all most daintily and delicately finished o-ff, and the 
broad circle of black bordering his large dark eye serves to enhance the size 
and brilliancy of the orbs. 
The most typical representative of the mungoose family is the Egyptian- 
mungoose or ichneumon, inhabiting Africa, north of the Sahara Desert, 
Palestine, Asia Minor, and the southern portions of Spain. It was one of 
the sacred animals of the ancient Egyptians, and is often depicted on their 
frescoes. It feeds largely upon the eggs of crocodiles, although this habit 
has not been recorded of any of the Indian species. It was, and I believe 
still is, domesticated in Egypt; and has the same antipathy to snakes alluded 
to under the head of the common Indian species. The Egyptian mungoose 
is a large species; the length of the head and body being about twenty 
inches. 
