I remember it looked very like my
own hind-legs. The fox, not being able to find me, went to this filth
and tried to eat it.
Then suddenly there was a dreadful fuss. The fox yelped and flew into
the air. I saw that a great black thing was fast on its forepaw. How
that fox did jump and roll! It was quite wonderful to see her. She
looked like a great yellow ball, except for a lot of white marks about
the head, which were her teeth. But the trap would not come away,
because it was tied to a root with a chain.
At last the fox grew tired and, lying down, began to think, licking its
paw as it thought and making a kind of moaning noise. Next it commenced
gnawing at the root after trying the chain and finding that its teeth
would not go into it. While it was doing this I heard the sound of a man
somewhere in the wood. So did the fox, and oh! it looked so frightened.
It lay down panting, its tongue hanging out and its ears pressed back
against its head, and whisked its big tail from side to side. Then it
began to gnaw again, but this time at its own leg. It wanted to bite it
off and so get away. I thought this very brave of the fox, and though
I hated it because it had eaten my brother and tried to eat me, I felt
quite sorry.
It was about half through its leg when the man came. I remember that he
had a cat with a little red collar on its neck, and an owl in his hand,
both of them dead, for he was Giles, the head-keeper, going round his
traps.
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