A labourer going to his work one morning, caught sight of a fox
stretched out at full length under a bush. Believing it to be dead, the
man drew it out by the tail, and swung it about to assure himself of the
fact. Perceiving no symptoms of life, he then threw it over his
shoulder, intending to make a cap of the skin, and ornament his cottage
wall with the brush. While the fox hung over one shoulder, his mattock
balanced it on the other. The point of the instrument, as he walked
along, every now and then struck against the ribs of the fox, which, not
so dead as the man supposed, objected to this proceeding, though he did
not mind being carried along with his head downward. Losing patience,
he gave a sharp snap at that portion of the labourer's body near which
his head hung. The man, startled by this sudden attack, threw fox and
mattock to the ground, when, turning round, he espied the live animal
making off at full speed.