THE PLAYMATES.—From a Photograph by Singhi.
THE FOX'S DINNER PARTY.
BY F. CASSIDY.
One of the funniest animal stories I ever heard was lately told by a sober Quaker gentleman from New Jersey, who said it was related to him by the eye-witness himself. He was one day in a field near a stream, where several geese were swimming. Presently he observed one of them disappear under water with a sudden jerk. While he looked for her to rise again he saw a fox emerge from the water, and trot off to the woods with the unfortunate goose in his mouth.
The fox chanced to go in a direction where it was easy to watch his movements. He carried his burden to a recess under an overhanging rock. Here he scratched away a mass of dry leaves, made a hole, hid his treasure within, and covered it up very carefully. Then off he went to the stream again, entered behind the flock of geese, and floated noiselessly along, with merely the tip of his nose visible above the surface. But this time he was not so fortunate in his manœuvre. The geese by some means took the alarm, and flew away with a loud cackling.
The fox, finding himself defeated, walked off in the direction opposite to the place where his victim was buried. The man went to the place, uncovered the hole, put the goose in his basket, replaced the leaves carefully, and stood patiently at a distance to watch further proceedings. The sly thief soon returned with another fox, whom he had apparently invited to dine with him. They trotted along right merrily, swinging their tails, snuffing the air, and smacking their lips in expectation of a rich repast.