Longears catches a tartar; but too brave to yield without a struggle,
rolls upon the ground, grinding the yellow enemy, and the string
beneath his teeth.
His evolutions on the grass wrap the string around his feet and neck;
Longears is taken prisoner, and finds himself dragged violently over
the ground.
Brave and resolute before a common enemy, Longears fears this unknown
adversary. Overcome with superstitious awe, he howls; endeavoring to
howl again, he finds his windpipe grasped by his enemy. The howl turns
into a wheeze. His eyes start from his head; his jaws open; he rolls
on the grass; leaps in the air; puts forth the strength of a giant,
but in vain.
It is at this juncture that Verty runs up and severs the string with
his hunting-knive; whereat Longears, finding himself released, rubs
his nose vigorously with his paws, sneezes, and lies down with an
unconscious air, as if nothing had happened. He is saved.
The kite, however, is sacrified. Justly punished for wounding Redbud's
hand, throwing Miss Fanny on her face, and periling the life of
Longears, the unfortunate kite struggles a moment in the clouds,
staggers from side to side, like a drunken man, and then caught by
a sudden gust, sweeps like a streaming comet down into the autumn
forest, and is gone.
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