The third and fifth paragraphs of the excerpt shows that animals have the ability to avoid being captured.
Explanation:
In the third and fifth paragraphs of this excerpt, the narrator shows how his pet named Nab resisted his offer of a fish. He first thought that at the first sight of the fish, Nab will grab at it and consume but that was not to be the case as the animal kept running around the tempting offer till the offeror became exhausted.
This trait of Nab can help him to avoid being captured as everything is first treated with a measure of suspicion. He was always on guard against possible harm.
Answer: To show how bad the situation was that he is begging for any method to help the children in Irish to be more useful than being dishonorable to the public eye.
