"'I crept along in the darkness, Stunned and bruised and blinded, Crept to a fir with thick set boughs, And a sheltering rock behind it. "'There, from the blowing and raining, Crouching, I sought to hide me; Something rustled, two green eyes shone, And a wolf lay down beside me. "'Little one, be not frightened; I and the wolf together, Side by side, through the long, long night, Hid from the awful weather. "'His wet fur pressed against me; Each of us warmed the other; Each of us felt in the stormy dark, That man and beast was brother. "'And when the falling forest No longer crashed in warning, Each of us went from our hiding place Forth in the wild, wet morning. "'Now, darling, kiss me in payment, And hark! how the wind is roaring; Surely home is a better place, When the stormy rain is pouring!'" The Fox, as you know, is found in most parts of England, and in many other countries. He is a sly, clever hunter, living by day in the hole which he hollows out for himself, and prowling about at night, stealing from hen-roosts, or pouncing upon some unwary hare or rabbit. The Jackal, which is perhaps more like a wolf than a fox, and lives in Africa and parts of Asia, is also a great devourer of game and poultry. [Illustration: A FOX TAKING TO THE WATER.] The Arctic-fox, which is found in the far north, is grey during the summer, but turns white as snow in winter, and its coat then becomes so thick as to cover even the soles of its feet. It is interesting to notice that those creatures whose home is in the far north are clad in grey or white, for animals which are hunted either as prey or for the sake of their fur, often take the colour of the ground, whether it be covered with snow, as in the Arctic regions, or brake and heather, as upon the moors and furzy coverts where our own hares and foxes hide. Now we come to the bears, which are found all the world over except in Africa. The Brown bear, which is a peaceable creature, feeding on honey or fruits, is still met with in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the north of Europe, but it has not lived in England since before the Conquest, at a time when wolves were quite common with us; especially in Wales.