Page:The Hare.djvu/46

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24
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HARE

paused on the brow of the hill just above the house. These creatures used to call to one another in low and plaintive tones, but it was always quite easy to hear the wild fellow responding to the plaintive overtures of the prisoner. Eventually, he may have won her affections, for she escaped from confinement, and, taking to the fields, reverted to a wild life. On one occasion she was recognised and nearly recaptured; but freedom was sweet and she wisely made the most of it. I am assured that the old doe hare usually calls to her leverets, in a way similar to that just described, when she desires to suckle them; but I cannot at present vouch for the accuracy of this from personal knowledge. Certainly an old hare will always answer the cry of a leveret that squeals in fear or pain; but that is of course entirely another matter. I once saw a hare that lived in a happy family, so-called, together with a kite, several cats, and some small birds and quadrupeds. Tame hares generally fraternise with the dogs of the house in which they live. Mr. C. Wapshore tells me that Mr. Brooker of Winterbourne reared a tiny leveret, which he found in the month of August 1890. He trained it to sit up at his command, holding a small stick in its mouth, but its favourite performance was to beat a tambourine, an accomplishment shared by another