eyes down in
distress.

At last they sat down, and he spoke, saying: "I know they are not my
children, but I shall not use them barbarously because of that. You are
still my wife. I swear to you they shall never be neglected. I will pay
for their education."

Then he began turning over the names of schools in his mind. Eton would
not do, nor Harrow, nor Winchester, nor Rugby.... But he could not tell
why these schools would not do for these children of hers, he only knew
that every school he thought of was impossible, but surely one could be
found. So turning over the names of schools he sat for a long while
holding his dear wife's hand, till at length, still weeping, she got up
and went away and then slowly he awoke.

But even when he had opened his eyes and looked about him he was
thinking of schools, saying to himself that he must send them to a
private academy, or even at the worst engage a tutor. "Why, yes," he
said to himself, putting one foot out of bed, "that is what it must be,
a tutor, though even then there will be a difficulty at first."

At those words he wondered what difficulty there would be and
recollected that they were not ordinary children. No, they were
foxes--mere foxes. When poor Mr. Tebrick had remembered this he was, as
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