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208
Animal Heroes
·
Ernest Thompson Seton
121
It
was
a
good
old
plan--one
that
doubtless
came
from
the
days
when
Buffalo
and
Coyote
played
the
parts
of
Cow
and
Dog.
Jack
never
forgot
it,
and
more
than
once
it
saved
his
life.
In
color
as
well
as
in
power
he
was
a
rarity.
Animals
are
colored
in
one
or
other
of
two
general
plans:
one
that
matches
them
with
their
surroundings
and
helps
them
to
hide--this
is
called
"protective";
the
other
that
makes
them
very
visible
for
several
purposes--this
is
called
"directive."
Jack-rabbits
are
peculiar
in
being
painted
both
ways.
As
they
squat
in
their
form
in
the
gray
brush
or
clods,
they
are
soft
gray
on
their
ears,
head,
back,
and
sides;
they
match
the
ground
and
cannot
be
seen
until
close
at
hand--they
are
protectively
colored.
But
the
moment
it
is
clear
to
the
Jack
that
the
approaching
foe
will
find
him,
he
jumps
up
and
dashes
away.
He
throws
off
all
disguise
now,
the
gray
seems
to
disappear;
he
makes
a
lightning
change,
and
his
ears
show
snowy
white
with
black
tips,
the
legs
are
white,
his
tail
is
a
black
spot
in
a
blaze
of
white.
He
is
a
black-and-white
Rabbit
now.
His
coloring
is
all
directive.
How
is
it
done?
Very
simply.
The
front
side
of
the
ear
is
gray,
the
back,
black
and
white.
The
black
tail
with
its
white
halo,
and
the
legs,
are
tucked
below.
He
is
sitting
on
them.
The
gray
mantle
is
pulled
down
and
enlarged
as
he
sits,
but
when
he
jumps
up
it
shrinks
somewhat,
all
his
black-and-white
marks
are
now
shown,
and
just
as
his
colors
formerly
whispered,
"I
am
a
clod,"
they
now
shout
aloud,
"I
am
a
Jack-rabbit."
Marker
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Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
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Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
