The truffle and the Norwich Terrier.
A few days before Christmas, as
a sacrifice to the traditional stuffed goose, I made the magnificent
purchase of a small share of truffles.
A while before, in a newspaper,
I have read an article on the "cavage", a little known canine practice.
Resolving to show Bibi, my young
Norwich Terrier, then five months old, that digging up tulips and
narcissus is not the only interest of "cavage", I made him taste
a little bit of truffle, and buried the remainder, without his knowing
it, in a garden nook.
I
called on my young student and with a lot mimicking I showed him
that I expected him to do. Perplexed, but not convinced, his burial
grounds being commonly at the other side of the garden, he condescended
to come near and to scrape a little.
I incited him so that Zezette,
his mother, came near to see that was happening, and by imitation
began scraping.
By a miracle, the truffle appeared:
the two terriers soon wrangled about it, and each getting his part,
they swallowed it, to my great despair.
I had forgotten this trial
when, coming back from our usual walk, I was perplexed by the demeanour
of my two Norwich Terriers which were sniffing, scratching and squabbling
at the foot of a bush.
I came nearer and, after
I had with difficulty managed to push them away, I found a small
truffle down in the excavation.
A few days later, the same adventure
occured again, pratically under the wheels of our car parked at
the usual place for the weekly walk and at a place greatly frequented
by people and by dogs.
To estimate the value of this aptitude
newly revealed, I decided to do some field work. A colleague who
is a hunter, to whom I told this story, being amused and curious
to see my little beasts at work, agreed to lead us to the natural
truffle-grounds he knows.
At a fine february afternoon, we set off for a trial run. After
a long walk through rocky, bushy and wooded paths, we reached a
"brulis", indicative of truffles.
I incited my two candidates to
manifest their talent. Bibi, the first, immediately understood what
I wanted: he put his nose on the ground, snuffled at several times,
and started on a rabbit trail where he soon found some delicious
dung to eat.
Zezette, more calmely, went on an exploratory
walk, and began to scratch and to puff. I arrested her ardour and
Mr. Ricard the hunter, on enlarging the hole found a wonderful black
truffle.
But, during all the next half hour,
despite our encouragement, there was no manifestestation on the
part of the two terriers: no truffles nor any rabbits.
Faced of this poor harvest we made
another trial on another "brulis". Utter defeat.
Confronted with incipient doubt,
we decided to strike hard: the cultivated truffle-ground.
Mr Ricard led us to a space about
two thousand yards square in size, enclosed by a double line of
barbed wire and guarded on the side by placards threatening intruders
or invaders with various legal thunderbolts.
Disinclined to continue, but resolved
to pursue our test, we began to walk around the enclosure when Zezette,
who cannot read yet, decided to go under the barbed wire entanglement.
A few steps inside she marked a place, then an another nearby and
a third...
At this point, the "truffle
madness" took possession of our guide. After a rapid glance around,
he jumped over the wretched enclosure, knelt down and excavated
the three places indicated. Then catching Zezette under his left
arm, smiling like a buccaneer, he came back, to show me the treasure
of the four splended truffles clutched in his hands.
The
test was estimated to be proof enough, and not wanting to stay longer
in the site of the exploit, we came back, proofs in pocket, to convince
the last unbelievers.
Since that time there is never
a week, in the course of our woody walks, when Zezette does not
leave the path and, tail frisking, show me where to find truffles,
which when distributed to our friends improve our relationships
and the fragrance of their omelets.
Of course, if rabbits, foxes, boars,
squirrels, butterflies...leave him some spare time, Bibi helps his
mother as best he can and tries to rob her of her finds.
In view of this skill, we are thinking
of challenging the great specialists -german sheeper dogs and other
truffle findind dogs- next year, in a sport we have commenced naturally
and passionately and not for a single moment do we doubt the success
of the Norwich terriers "truffling".
As proof. We have entered several
competitions, and if we have not yet won, we have all time achieved
honorable placings.
Lexicon:
Zezette and Bibi are the affectionate
nickname of our first two Norwich Terriers, who can also answer to
other names, such as Nini-Belle, Zouzouille, Zigounette, Pipistron
or Zigounet.
"Brulis": a place appearing burnt-off,
surrounding an oak, juniper or olive tree, and indicative of the presence
of truffles.
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