crazy, biting at the snow and rolling in it, and round and round in
circles and rushed back at him fiercely as if she meant to bite him. He
joined her in the frolic, and began snowballing her till she was so wild
that it was all he could do to quiet her again and bring her indoors for
luncheon. Indeed with her gambollings she tracked the whole garden over
with her feet; he could see where she had rolled in the snow and where
she had danced in it, and looking at those prints of her feet as they
went in, made his heart ache, he knew not why.

They passed the first day at old Nanny's cottage happily enough, without
their usual bickerings, and this because of the novelty of the snow
which had diverted them. In the afternoon he first showed his wife to
little Polly, who eyed her very curiously but hung back shyly and seemed
a good deal afraid of the fox. But Mr. Tebrick took up a book and let
them get acquainted by themselves, and presently looking up saw that
they had come together and Polly was stroking his wife, patting her and
running her fingers through her fur. Presently she began talking to the
fox, and then brought her doll in to show her so that very soon they
were very good playmates together. Watching the two gave Mr. Tebrick
great delight, and in particular when he noticed that there was
something very motherly in his vixen. She was indeed far above the child
in intelligence and restrained herself too from any hasty action. But
while she seemed to wait on Polly's pleasure yet she managed to give a
twist to the game, whatever it was, that never failed to delight the
little girl. In short, in a very little while, Polly was so taken with
her new playmate that she cried when she was parted from her and wanted
her always with her. This disposition of Mrs. Tebrick's made Mrs. Cork
more agreeable than she had been lately either to the husband or the
wife.