The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-11-18
THE CUNNING FOX.

HI OUNNlINU INyA.
An Animal That 10 Full Of Life
and Resources.
He Is Ever the Alert and Notwith-
standing His Pilfertnc Tenden-
c1es L. in Truth .
Merry Beast.
elbow few people know what an in
teresting chap the foxsis,'' said q nat
ura1ist, recently, They know him
only by reputation, and that as
chicken thief, which heis But he has
lots of points, tell you. A merry, sly
dog is reynard. All summer he lives
In luxurious ease. roaming the woods
and sauntering by the pearly brooks,
or basking in the monday sun.
HE loves fish; and going down to
the stream he waits till he spies a
plump trout. It's over in twinkling.
A leap, a snap, and off he trots with
his juicy morsel. A stupid crawfish
snoozes by his hole near the waters
edge Reynard drops his tail in the
water and tickles him with it. The
angered crustacean comes out of his
hiding place and is seized and crushed.
armor and all When the ripening
corn is ready to drop, and the luscious
fruits have reached their maturity,
and all nature is plethoric with ripen-
ing fullness, then Master Fox is in
clover. Timid rabbits prick up their
ears and run, unconscious of danger,
III T., h.> t1>
noiselessly in the wheat stubble; birds
pour forth their notes of praisc-and
he catches them all. He loves fruits.
Stealthily he steals into orchards,
where apples and plump pears tempt,
and in the vineyard he fairly revels in
grapes. His cubs grow fat and saucy.
He shows them how to pilfer honey.
and when the busy bees have laid up.
a winter store he crawls to the hives
near the garden fence and, jumping up
to the small opening, ticks the sweet
drops with pure delight Out come
the stinging, humming honeymakers
and settle like ball on his thick
pelt; but he doubles up in twinkling,
and, rolling over and over, brushes
them by the score and eats them as a
relish. g..
Cunning? No animal beats him.
Look at his brainy head. His delicate
ears-broad below to catch every sound,
from the highest note of the shrill
warbler to the low grooming of the
cricket, or the distant mur1nur Of storm,
or the fevered pants of the prancing
hounds, and tapering so sharply to q
point that they can shape themselves
to every wave OF air that makes the
tiniest rustic of noise Note the crafty
calculation and foresight OF the low,
fat brow. What nose! Now full of
resolute purpose pointing straight for
ward, and anon turning up with con-
centrated malice and scorn. The eye,
deep-set, a regular robbers eye, lack
ing the soft beauty of the ti1nid deer,
orthe fascinating glare Of the cat's, yet
it trembles with modest humility, or
glares with murderous rage, flashing
fire and vengeance. Energy and self
control speak in the thin, cynical lips,
and the mouth opens from ear to ear.
He. can leap, crawl. run and swim with
the velocity OF lightning, and his why
body is carried SO noiselessly along
that scarce a trace is left. His deli
cate footballs echo no response even
among the dead leaves Of the forest.
His walk is treacherous. his glance sim
lister. Selling bunch Of grain in his
mouth. he will swim into the midst of
a flock of ducks and seize the plumpest
for a dinner
ale is voraciots. is reynard. When
hunger pressed, and gaunt and lean
from starvation, he'll not refuse SER
penis and toads and moles and rats.
He has been known to attack and kill
young calves and lambs. and if the sea-
shore is near will revel in oysters and
shellish A group of rabbits are feed
ing in clover patch. He'll crawl
along, nibbling the juicy flowers until
near enough to make grab. He'll
stalk bird, with his hind legs drag
ging behind him, until near enough to
spring. How farmers dread his inroads !
in the poultry yard Fasten the yard
up tight and he will burrow winding
passage into the ground beneath and
suddenly appear among the drowsy
chickens and stupid geese, whose shrill
and alarmed cries arouse the farmer
from his bed to sally forth, finding all
safe. Then the fox will sneak back
and pack away with the plumpest pull
let or the fattest goose.
February is the month when rev.
nard goes awooing, and wide range |
he takes, flirting and toying with !
every vixen that chances in his way. |
1t is fully sixty days before madame |
clears the rubbish all out Of her bur
row and brings forth her young. from
three to six at litter, 1t will be fully
a month before the sharp-nosed cubs
begin to play and gambol about the !!
doorway of their home. Perhaps it
will be at the root OF an old tree, be-
meath ledge of rocks, or in the hollow
of dead tree trunk. or a burrow with
several entrances in the sand or loan.
Tell-tale chicken bones, and feathers
and furs strewn about the entrance,
speak of many hen roost robbed, or
of foolish rabbits and over-confident |
grouse that have furnished food for
the ever-hungry cubs. The mother fox |