it were, dazed or stunned by the fact, and for a long time he could
understand nothing, but at last burst into a flood of tears
compassionating them and himself too. The awfulness of the fact itself,
that his dear wife should have foxes instead of children, filled him
with an agony of pity, and, at length, when he recollected the cause of
their being foxes, that is that his wife was a fox also, his tears broke
out anew, and he could bear it no longer but began calling out in his
anguish, and beat his head once or twice against the wall, and then cast
himself down on his bed again and wept and wept, sometimes tearing the
sheets asunder with his teeth.

The whole of that day, for he was not to go to the earth till evening,
he went about sorrowfully, torn by true pity for his poor vixen and her
children.

At last when the time came he went again up to the earth, which he found
deserted, but hearing his voice, out came Esther. But though he called
the others by their names there was no answer, and something in the way
the cub greeted him made him fancy she was indeed alone. She was truly
rejoiced to see him, and scrambled up into his arms, and thence to his
shoulder, kissing him, which was unusual in her (though natural enough
in her sister Angelica). He sat down a little way from the earth
fondling her, and fed her with some fish he had brought for her mother,
which she ate so ravenously that he concluded she must have been short
of food that day and probably alone for some time.

At last while he was sitting there Esther pricked up her ears, started
up, and presently Mr. Tebrick saw his vixen come towards them. She
greeted him very affectionately but it was plain had not much time to
spare, for she soon started back whence she had come with Esther at her