The kittens fell upon it like furies, growling at each
other, as I had seen the stranger lynxes growling once before over the
caribou. In a moment they had torn the carcass apart and were
crouched, each one over his piece, gnarling like a cat over a rat, and
stuffing themselves greedily in utter forgetfulness of the mother
lynx, which lay under a bush some distance away and watched them.
In a half hour the savage meal was over. The little ones sat up,
licked their chops, and began to tongue their broad paws. The mother
had been blinking sleepily; now she rose and came to her young. A
change had come over the family. The kittens ran to meet the dam as if
they had not seen her before, rubbing softly against her legs, or
sitting up to rub their whiskers against hers--a tardy thanks for the
breakfast she had provided. The fierce old mother too seemed
altogether different. She arched her back against the roots, purring
loudly, while the little ones arched and purred against her sides.
Then she bent her savage head and licked them fondly with her tongue,
while they rubbed as close to her as they could get, passing between
her legs as under a bridge, and trying to lick her face in return;
till all their tongues were going at once and the family lay down
together.
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