 | Sketches of Natural History |  |
113
THE FOX.
In the rugged copse, in the ferny brake,
The cunning red Fox his den doth make;
In the ancient turf of the baron's land,
Where the knarled oaks of the forest stand;
In the widow's garden lone and bare;
On the hills which the poor man tills with care:
There ages ago he made his den,
And there he abideth in spite of men.
'Tis a dismal place, for all the floor
With the bones of his prey is covered o'er;
'Tis darksome and lone, you can hardly trace
The furthest nook of the dreary place;
And there he skulks, like a creature of ill,
And comes out when midnight is dark and still;
When the dismal Owl with his staring eye,
Sends forth from the ruin his screeching cry,
And the Bat on his black leathern wings goes by;
Then out comes the Fox with his thievish mind,
Looking this way and that way, before and behind;
Then running along, thinking but of the theft
Of the one little Hen the poor Widow has left;
And he boldly and carelessly passes her shed,
For he knows very well she is sleeping in bed,
And that she has no Dog to give notice of foes,
So he seizes his prey and home leisurely goes.
The cunning red Fox his den doth make;
In the ancient turf of the baron's land,
Where the knarled oaks of the forest stand;
In the widow's garden lone and bare;
On the hills which the poor man tills with care:
There ages ago he made his den,
And there he abideth in spite of men.
'Tis a dismal place, for all the floor
With the bones of his prey is covered o'er;
'Tis darksome and lone, you can hardly trace
The furthest nook of the dreary place;
114
And comes out when midnight is dark and still;
When the dismal Owl with his staring eye,
Sends forth from the ruin his screeching cry,
And the Bat on his black leathern wings goes by;
Then out comes the Fox with his thievish mind,
Looking this way and that way, before and behind;
Then running along, thinking but of the theft
Of the one little Hen the poor Widow has left;
And he boldly and carelessly passes her shed,
For he knows very well she is sleeping in bed,
115
So he seizes his prey and home leisurely goes.
And at times he steals down to the depth of the wood,
And seizes the Partridge in midst of her brood;
And the little grey Rabbit, and young timid Hare;
And the tall, stately Pheasant, so gentle and fair;
And he buries them deep in some secret spot,
Where he knows man or hound can discover them not.
But vengeance comes down on the thief at length,
For they hunt him out of his place of strength,
And man and the Fox are at desperate strife,
And the creature runs, and runs for his life:
And following close is the snuffing hound,
And hills and hollows they compass round;
Till at length he is seized, a caitiff stout,
And the wild dogs bark, and the hunters' shout;
And they cut off his tail and wave it on high,
Saying, “Here fell the Fox so thievish and sly!”
Thus may all oppressors of poor men die!
Then again mounts each hunter, and all ride away,
And have a good dinner to end the day;
And they drink the red wine, and merrily sing,
“Death to the Fox, and long life to the King!”
And seizes the Partridge in midst of her brood;
And the little grey Rabbit, and young timid Hare;
And the tall, stately Pheasant, so gentle and fair;
And he buries them deep in some secret spot,
Where he knows man or hound can discover them not.
116
For they hunt him out of his place of strength,
And man and the Fox are at desperate strife,
And the creature runs, and runs for his life:
And following close is the snuffing hound,
And hills and hollows they compass round;
Till at length he is seized, a caitiff stout,
And the wild dogs bark, and the hunters' shout;
And they cut off his tail and wave it on high,
Saying, “Here fell the Fox so thievish and sly!”
Thus may all oppressors of poor men die!
117
And have a good dinner to end the day;
And they drink the red wine, and merrily sing,
“Death to the Fox, and long life to the King!”
| Sketches of Natural History | |