14 THE LIFE OF A FOX.

might profit by her prudence, and observe her
ways. She seldom went abroad till night, though
sometimes she would venture in the dusk of
evening. Upon one occasion I was much amused
with an example of her engaging tricks. It was
a bright moonlight night, when I saw her go
into a field, in which many rabbits and hares were
“feeding. On first seeing her, some of them ran
away for a few yards, some sat up on their hind
legs and gazed at her, and some squatted: close
to the ground. My mother at first trotted on
gently, as if not observing them; she then lay
down and rolled on her back, then got up and
shook herself ; and so she went on till the sim-
ple creatures, cheated by a show of simplicity,
and never dreaming she could be bent on any
thing beyond such harmless diversion, fell to
feeding again, when she quietly leaped amongst
them and carried off an easy prey.
We were now fully able to gain our own sub-
sistence, but not the less would she watch over
our safety. One of my brothers having found a

piece of raw meat had begun to devour it, which