spoke to her gently, taking her on to his knee, stroking her fur and fed
her with a few grapes, saying to her:

"Silvia, Silvia, is it so hard for you? Try and remember the past, my
darling, and by living with me we will quite forget that you are no
longer a woman. Surely this affliction will pass soon, as suddenly as
it came, and it will all seem to us like an evil dream."

Yet though she appeared perfectly sensible of his words and gave him
sorrowful and penitent looks like her old self, that same afternoon, on
taking her out, he had all the difficulty in the world to keep her from
going near the ducks.

There came to him then a thought that was very disagreeable to him,
namely, that he dare not trust his wife alone with any bird or she would
kill it. And this was the more shocking to him to think of since it
meant that he durst not trust her as much as a dog even. For we may
trust dogs who are familiars, with all the household pets; nay more, we
can put them upon trust with anything and know they will not touch it,
not even if they be starving. But things were come to such a pass with
his vixen that he dared not in his heart trust her at all. Yet she was
still in many ways so much more woman than fox that he could talk to her
on any subject and she would understand him, better far than the
oriental women who are kept in subjection can ever understand their
masters unless they converse on the most trifling household topics.

Thus she understood excellently well the importance and duties of
religion. She would listen with approval in the evening when he said the
Lord's Prayer, and was rigid in her observance of the Sabbath. Indeed,
the next day being Sunday he, thinking no harm, proposed their usual