Now all this while I had lived in the swamp near the sea, but when my
strength returned I thought of my old home, to which something seemed
to draw me. Also there were no turnips near the swamp, and as the winter
came on I found very little to eat there. So one day, or rather one
night, I travelled back home.
As it happened the first hare that I met near the big wood was my
sister. She was very glad to see me, although she had forgotten how we
came to part, and when I spoke of our father and mother these did not
seem to interest her. Still from that time forward we lived together
more or less till her end came.
One day--this was after we had made our home in the big wood, as hares
often do in winter--there was a great disturbance. When we tried to go
out to feed at daylight we found little fires burning everywhere, and
near to them boys who beat themselves and shouted. So we went back into
the wood, where the pheasants were running to and fro in a great state
of mind.
Some hours later, when the sun was quite high, men began to march
about and scores of shots were fired a long way off, also a wounded
cock-pheasant fell near to us and fluttered away, making a queer noise
in its throat. It looked very funny stumbling along on one leg with its
beak gaping and two of the long feathers in its tail broken.
"I know what this is," I said to my sister. "Let's be gone before they
shoot us. I've had enough of being shot.
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