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The nexthe woke suddenly with a start and on the instant heard a fox bark once more At that he pulled on his clothes and ran out as fast as he could to the garden gate The sun was not yet high, the dew thick everywhere, and for awas very silent He looked about hierly but could see no fox, yet there was already joy in his heart

Then while he looked up and down the road, he saw his vixen step out of the copse about thirty yards away He called to her at once

"My dearest wife! Oh, Silvia! You are co her tail, which set his last doubts at rest

But then though he called her again, she stepped into the copse once h she looked back at him over her shoulder as she went At this he ran after her, but softly and not too fast lest he should frighten her away, and then looked about for her again and called to her when he saw her a her distance from him He followed her then, and as he approached so she retreated fro back at hih the underwood up the side of the hill, when suddenly she disappeared froot there he could see her nowhere, but looking about hiht have passed it by a thousand times and would never have found it unless he had h he went on his hands and knees, he could see nothing of his vixen, so that he waited a little while wondering

Presently he heard a noise of so in the earth, and so waited silently, then saw soht It was a small sooty black beast, like a puppy There came another behind it, then another and so on till there were five of the her litter before her, and while he looked at her silently, a prey to his confused and unhappy e with pride and happiness

She picked up one of her youngsters then, in her ht it to him and laid it in front of him, and then looked up at him very excited, or so it seemed

Mr Tebrick took the cub in his hands, stroked it and put it against his cheek It was a little felloith a s vacant eyes of a brilliant electric blue and a little tail like a carrot When he was put down he took a step towards his mother and then sat down very comically