The Fox or Jackal

They do not go out for their food in the daytime, but wait till it begins to be dark; and then theykill all the animals they can find that are not too strong for them. Sometimes a large animal likethe lion will hear the cries that they make when they are hunting, and will come and snatch awayfrom them whatever they have found. These foxes or jackals have been known to scratch awaythe earth from graves that have been lately made, and then devour the bodies of the dead. Thisexplains a verse in the sixty-second Psalm, where David says of those who "seek his soul todestroy it,"-"They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes."

They eat plants of different kinds; sometimes roots, and sometimes fruits. This is one of theverses in Solomon's Song, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes which spoil the vines; for our vineshave tender grapes."

These animals are often found in great numbers around the walls and ruins of old cities; theylive in holes or burrows which they dig in the ground. Our Savior says, "The foxes have holesand the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." We haveread this verse so many times that we scarcely think how much it means; but was it not awonderful thing that when Christ came from his bright throne in heaven to this poor earth, heshould not find even a home here? Every animal on all the hills has its shelter and hiding-place;every little bird in all the forest has its comfortable nest; but our Savior "had not where to layhis head." During all his life he was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." For whomdid he suffer all this?-and when his sorrowful life was ended, for whom did he die? I need nottell you this, dear child, but I may ask you,

"Is there nothing we can do

"To prove our grateful love?"

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