The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-04
------- . T YOUNG FOXES.

The Sprite soon became very play full and his playfulness manifested it. self in number of ways. Every scrap of paper or other small article which he found on the floor, he picked up, and ran away with. shaking it as he went. When any one put out hand to stroke him. he would take their fingers in his teeth, and chew them gently and the loose ends of shoe-laces he always re- garded as things to be chewed and played with. He very soon showed that he would not stand milk as a steady diet, so I was obliged to give him meat at least once a day. Each time he had it, he displayed the savage side of his nature, never to be seen at any other time. Gradually his allow ance of meat was increased, and one day I gave him more than he could eat at a and placed on a newspaper. When he had eaten all he wanted he deliberately lifted the corners of the newspaper with his nose, and covered the meat over. This was done with the evident in tention of hiding the food. and as soon as he was hungry again, he came back and uncovered the meat and ate 1t. Thereafter he received more meat than he could manage at once; he hid what was left over. He usually scratched an imaginary hole in the floor with his forepaws, pushed the meat with
 his nose, Into the place where the hole should have been and then. again using his nose, he would push over it imagi- nary earth in the shape of newspaper, rug or any other lose article which might be lying near: I never saw him
 bring anything in his mouth to cover up his food. Sometimes he did not hide 1t all in one place, but tucked it away in corners here and there and once, when he was nearly two months old saw him mount on chair and place piece of meat on shelf When he was about a month old, got some more fox cubs from the west, and when fed them to- gether, it was interesting to see in which way they contended for the food. If one had taken hold of piece of meat, he would prevent the others from
 getting near it, by staving them off with his hindquarters, first one side and then the other, meanwhile holding on to the meat with his teeth, and growing vigorously. The other foxes placed in a large pen in the garden, and all of them buried such food as they could not eat at the time, and dug it up again when they were hungry. And l found that foxes can be we'll nigh omnivorous The Sprite, for instance, will eat bananas, strawberries, potatoes, let tuce, sugar, candy of all kinds, sweet chocolate, crackers shredded-wheat biscuit, bread, butter, dog-biscuits and coffee grounds, besides meat and fish of every description, dead or alive cooked or raw. Of the three, drinks he has tried viz, water milk and coffee, he has a decided preference for coffee. One of the only things have known him to refuse is pineapple, and to that he showed an unmistakable dislike.
 Indoors he is the life of the house; | so mischievous that nothing is safe from him, yet so cheerful, so good- I natured, and so inexpressibly beautiful I in every movement and in every line of
 his body, that he pays a hundred times over for all the damange he does When he is sleepy, he is more docile than a cat, allowing himself to be | caressed or moved from place to place, l simply crying softly like a child be- | cause he is disturbed. But when he is | awake, which is most of the time he is I seldom quiet moment. Now he is rac- f ing around the room like mad, over my 1 knees to the table, across my newly written manuscript. and upsetting the l ink-bottle in passing; on he is tearing through bedroom, pulling off counter 1! pane with his teeth, with never a look | behind as he bolts downstairs again and
 out upon the piazza, to frighten the red | squirrels out of their wits by scratching on the netting of their cage. Only last | night, while we were at tea, he swept from somewhere like a miniature tornado, and landed upon the table
 right among the tea-cups, withou breaking or upsetting thing.
 1 .. One of the qualities which endears
 him to me most is his grit. When he i is playing with me, as he will for ar
 hour at time, he often gets hurt ac
 cidentally, yet he enters no protest, bu comes on again to the attack like a lit
 tie hero. Once stepped on him hart
 as he rushed across my path and
 though he limped off with ruefu
 eountenance, he never uttered a whimp
 CT. He has great courage of his owr
 particular kind; and what quality il
 fox or man can compare with this? prefer 8 brave devil to cowardl.
 saint.
 From the time he was a month old