WILD LIFE ON THE WING 
the remaining egg. Suddenly she looked up 
and met the luminous stare of the Grenogue 
vixen. Two of the cubs were behind, and 
one had so far forgotten his hunter's self-control 
as to whimper. His mother dared not turn 
on him, but her lips curled back on her fangs, 
and the offender sank down abashed. The 
nest was a dark blot against the lighter reflec- 
tions of the sky. The vixen stepped on to 
the tree-trunk and craned her neck, but she was 
still three feet from her prey. She sidled 
forward, balancing herself awkwardly on the 
slipping bank, and the cubs crept a step nearer 
shivering with eager anticipation. Cearc-uise 
spread her wings over the nest, and began to 
cry so heart-brokenly that one cub believed 
that the stalking had ended satisfactorily, and 
rushed to the water's edge to claim his share 
of the meal. This flurried the vixen, and she 
sprang before she had quite judged her distance. 
Consequently, she landed just short of the nest, 
and striking it with her breast, tilted it over 
into deep water. Cearc-uise fluttered away 
screaming, with her tail feathers torn out, and 
the cubs losing all control of themselves raced 
up and down the bank. The vixen clambered 
ashore, and coughed the feathers and water out 
of her mouth. The cubs sobered down when she 
snarled at them, and trotted after her meekly. 
20 
