Not so his vixen, who appeared if anything more pleased than ever when
she saw in what a commotion she had set them, and began cutting a
thousand pretty capers. Though at first he called to her to come back
and walk another way, Mr. Tebrick was overborne by her pleasure and sat
down, while she frisked around him happier far than he had seen her ever
since the change. First she ran up to him in a laughing way, all smiles,
and then ran down again to the water's edge and began frisking and
frolicking, chasing her own brush, dancing on her hind legs even, and
rolling on the ground, then fell to running in circles, but all this
without paying any heed to the ducks.

But they, with their necks craned out all pointing one way, swam to and
fro in the middle of the pond, never stopping their quack, quack quack,
and keeping time too, for they all quacked in chorus. Presently she came
further away from the pond, and he, thinking they had had enough of this
sort of entertainment, laid hold of her and said to her:

"Come, Silvia, my dear, it is growing cold, and it is time we went
indoors. I am sure taking the air has done you a world of good, but we
must not linger any more."

She appeared then to agree with him, though she threw half a glance over
her shoulder at the ducks, and they both walked soberly enough towards
the house.

When they had gone about halfway she suddenly slipped round and was off.
He turned quickly and saw the ducks had been following them.

So she drove them before her back into the pond, the ducks running in
terror from her with their wings spread, and she not pressing them, for