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Show MiUiimimwwPW""""1" Jiwi .) man TnE CUNNING FOX. An Animal That la Full or Idfo and Xlosouroos. II Err on Ili Alert and Kotwlth- tandluK Il l'llff rlnc Tendea clet Is In Troth m Merejr llrntt. "Hovr few peoplo know what nn interesting in-teresting chap tho fox Is," Raid a naturalist, nat-uralist, recently. "Thoy know him only by reputation, nnd that as a chicken tlikf. which hois. Hut ho has lots of points, I tell you. Amorry, Bly dog is reynnrd. All summer ho lives In luxurious case, roaming tho woods and sauntering by tho pearly brooks, or basking Jn tho noonday sun. "Ho lovci flshi nnd going down to tho stremt ho waits tlir ho spies n plump trout It's over in a twinkling. A leap, a snap, nnd off ho trots with hi? juicy morsel A stupid crawfish snoozes by his holo near tho water's edge. Reynard drops his tall In tho wntc? nnd ticlilcs hlrn with It. Tho angered crustacean comes out of his hiding placo and Is seized nnd crushed, armor and nil. When tho ripening corn Is ready to drop, nnd tho luscious fruits hnvo reached their maturity, und nil nnturo is plcthoriovitli ripening ripen-ing fullness, then Matter Tox la In clover. Timid rabbits prick up their cars nnd run, unconscious of danger, along tho hlllsldo; tho quails skulk noiselessly In tlio wheat atubblc; birds pour forth their notes of prnlso nnd ho catches them all. Ho loves fruits. Stealthily ho steals Into orchards, where npplcs nnd plump pears tempt, and In thu vineyard ho fairly ravels In grapes. Ills cubs grow fat and saucy. Ho allows them how to pilfer honey, and when tho busy bees have laid up a winter store ho crawls to tho hives near tho garden fence and, Jumping up to tho small opening, licks tho sweet drops with puro dcilgH. Out como tho stinging, humming honoymnUcrs and settle liko n hnll on his thick polt; but he doubles up In a twinkling, and, rolling ovor nnd over, crushes them by the score and eats them as n relish. "Cunnlnp? No animal beats him. Look nt his brainy head. His delicate cars broad below to catch every sound, from tho highest note of tho fchrlll warbler to tho low crooning of tho cricket, or tho distant murmur of storm, or tho fevurcd pants of tho prancing hounds, and tapering ho sharply to n pplut that they can shapo themselves to every wnvo of air that makes tho tiniest rustlo of nolso. Noto tho crafty calculation nnd foroslght of tho low, tlat brow. What n nosol Now full of resoluto purpose pointing straight for-wnrd, for-wnrd, nnd nnon turning up with concentrated con-centrated mnllco and scorn. Tho oye, decp-tet, a regular robber's eye, lacking lack-ing tho soft beauty of tho timid doer, or the fascinating glaro of tho cat's, yet It tremble t with modest humility, or glares with murderous rngo, flashing tiro nnd vengeance. Energy and self-control self-control speak In the thin, cynical lips, nnd the month opens from enr to oar. Ho can leap, crawl, run nntt swim with tho velocity of lightning, nnd his wiry body is carried io noiselessly along that Kcuroo atrmc U loft. His dell-eato dell-eato footfalls tolu no response oven unong the dead hurjsof the forest. Ills walk Is trvach ..), bin glanoa sin-ktiT. sin-ktiT. Seizing a bvuch of grain In his mouth, he will i.v. im into tho midst of n flock of ducks und tclzo tho plumpest f ti dliCier. "Ho is voracious, Is ruynard. When hunger presuod, and gaunt nnd lean from sfjirvatlon, ho'll not rcfuso serpents ser-pents nnd toads nnd moles nnd rats, lie has been l.uovvn to nttaclc nnd kill young calvcaand lambs, and If tho sca-shoro sca-shoro is near will revel In oyoteru and shollfUh. A group of rabbits aro feeding feed-ing In a clover patch. Ho'll crawl along, nibbling tho juicy flowers until nenr enough to mako n grab. Ho'll stalk a bird, with his hind legs dragging drag-ging behind him, until near enough to spring How farmers dread his im oadb tn tho poultry yard. Fasten tho jnrd up tight nnd ho will burrow a windlug passage! Into the ground beneath nnd .uddculy nppertr among the drowsy chlckonn and stupid gocso, whoso ihrlll and alarmed cries nrouco tho farmer from hln bed to sally forth, flndlng till safe Then tho fox will Bueuk back nud pne't nvvay with tho plumpest pul-let pul-let or the fattest gooso. "February Is tho month when roy-sard roy-sard poos nwooiug, and n wido ruugo ho lakes, flirting and toying with uvcry vixen that chimera In hlsvvny. It Is fully sixty days before machine clears tho rubbish all out of her hi r-row r-row nnd brings forth her young, from three to sis nt a litter. H will bo fully a month beforo tho shnrp-noscd cubs begin to play and gambol about tho doorway of their homo. 1'orhapn it will bo nt tho root of nn old tree, beneath be-neath n ledgoot rooks, or tn tho hollow of a dend tree trunk, or n burrow with covcrd cntrancos in tho Band or loam. Toll-tala chicken bones, nnd feathers and furs atrewn about tho entrance, speak of many a hen roost robbed, or of foolish rabbits and ovor-confldont grouso that have furnished food for tho ever-hungry cubs. The mother fo.x faithfully fceda her young und boldly steals to .upport them. She knows, ns all sportsraeu kuovv, that the hounds will not follow her whllo uho haa a family dopondlng upon her. "A ncrry, dcvil-may-caro life dooa Jho fox lend, Indeed! It may bo n short qdc, for traps nnd snares nro many, hunters aro alert and tko scent of hound la keen. But roynnrd rollicks and rolstern, and plnj s tho bold freebooter free-booter timid it all " |