"'I crept along in the darkness,
Stunned and bruised and blinded,
Crept to a fir with thick set boughs,
And a sheltering rock behind it.
"'There, from the blowing and raining,
Crouching, I sought to hide me;
Something rustled, two green eyes shone,
And a wolf lay down beside me.
"'Little one, be not frightened;
I and the wolf together,
Side by side, through the long, long night,
Hid from the awful weather.
"'His wet fur pressed against me;
Each of us warmed the other;
Each of us felt in the stormy dark,
That man and beast was brother.
"'And when the falling forest
No longer crashed in warning,
Each of us went from our hiding place
Forth in the wild, wet morning.
"'Now, darling, kiss me in payment,
And hark! how the wind is roaring;
Surely home is a better place,
When the stormy rain is pouring!'"
The Fox, as you know, is found in most parts of England, and in many other
countries. He is a sly, clever hunter, living by day in the hole which
he hollows out for himself, and prowling about at night, stealing from
hen-roosts, or pouncing upon some unwary hare or rabbit. The Jackal, which
is perhaps more like a wolf than a fox, and lives in Africa and parts of
Asia, is also a great devourer of game and poultry.
[Illustration: A FOX TAKING TO THE WATER.]
The Arctic-fox, which is found in the far north, is grey during the summer,
but turns white as snow in winter, and its coat then becomes so thick as to
cover even the soles of its feet.
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