636 THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
The fox fully deserves its reputation for cunning. Knowing that it is 
endangered by the strong scent which is one of the crosses which it has to bear, 
it makes every effort to use “ art as nature to advantage dressed.” It will 
eagerly avail itself of the presence of any perfumed shrub; it will often, when 
pursued, usurp the burrows of another fox so that by temporary occupancy it 
may divert the pursuit and share its undesired adventures with another of its 
kind; it will take to the water to destroy its 
trail; it will leap high in air and over wide 
distances that it may effect the same end. So, 
too, when hunting hares and rabbits, whose fleet¬ 
ness exceeds its own, it will display a cleverness 
which lends reasonableness to the various fables 
in which the fox has played the hero. On one 
occasion an observing hunter gave himself up 
to watching the proceedings of a fox. Reynard 
first came down and reconnoitered a field in which 
a great many hares were feeding. He then care¬ 
fully inspected the possible means of exit, and 
finally selected one hole under the fence as a 
good location for a hunter. He next burrowed 
to a slight depth, and patiently anticipated the 
time when the unsuspicious hares having feasted, 
should return to their warren for rest. After about an hour the hares began 
to straggle through the other openings, but without any effect upon Reynard 
except that of making his eyes sparkle and his 
tail quiver. Finally two hares came through the 
opening which Reynard was guarding, and allow¬ 
ing the first one to pass, he sprang upon the 
second and was bearing it away in triumph when 
the unseen hunter brought its life to a close, 
and added to his increased knowledge of natural 
history, a fox and hare both in prime condition. 
A tame fox found a curious way of turning its 
curse of muskiness into a blessing in disguise. 
Finding by experiment that its presence was espe¬ 
cially offensive to the cats, it would await the 
time when they received their supplies of milk, 
and then intrude upon their company until, when 
they withdrew in disgust, it would devote itself to 
enjoying the repast provided for his exclusive 
neighbors. Learning wisdom from experience, it 
began to brush against the milkmaid as she re¬ 
turned from the milking, and having thoroughly 
impregnated the milk, would succeed to its possession. On more than 
one occasion, when closely pursued, a fox has been known to vanish as if 
into thin air. One such clever strategist used always to disappear over a 
most precipitous cliff, and it was not until after many a fruitless pursuit 
that a hunter-spy discovered that the fox had found a shelving rock just below 
the top of the cliff, and a passage leading to the top of the ground which 
AMERICAN- FOX. 
