Friends in Feathers and Fur, and Other Neighbors Part 10

1. Mice increase so fast that, if we did not have some way to destroy them, they would soon overrun the house, so that we could not live in it.

2. They have their homes in the hollow walls, and can go about from one part of the house to the other without being seen; and when they smell food they gnaw a hole through the wall to get at it.

3. They are playful little animals, and may easily be tamed. When a mouse comes into the room where people live, it is ready to run away at once if anything moves.

4. But if all are still, it will scamper about the floor, and look over and smell everything in the room. The next day it will come back, and finally it will play about the room as if no one were there.

5. The mice that run about the house have gray coats; but some mice are white, with pink eyes, and these are often tamed and kept as pets.

6. A lady once tamed a common gray mouse, so that it would eat out of her hand. She also had a while mouse in a cage.

7. The gray mouse was very angry when he saw the lady pet the white mouse; and one day he some way got into the cage, and when the lady came back into the room, she found the white mouse was dead.

8. Music sometimes seems to have a strange effect upon a mouse. At one time, when a man was playing upon his violin, a mouse came out of his hole and danced about the floor. He seemed almost frantic with delight, and kept time to the music for several minutes. At last he stopped, fell over on the floor, and they found he was dead.

LESSON XXVI.

_WHITE-PAW STARTS TO SEE THE WORLD._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

1. White-paw was a young mouse that lived with his mother. Their home was in a barn, behind some sacks of corn, and a very nice home it was.

2. When a sunbeam flashed in upon them at midday, "That was the sun,"

said Mrs. Mouse. When a ray of the moon stole quietly in, "That is the moon," said the simple-minded creature, and thought she was very wise to know so much.

3. But little White-paw was not so contented as his mother. As he frisked and played in his one ray of suns.h.i.+ne or one gleam of moonlight, he had queer little fancies.

4. One morning, while at breakfast on some kernels of corn and sweet apples which his mother had brought home, he asked:

5. "Mother, what is the world?"

6. "A great, terrible place!" was the answer, and Mrs. Mouse looked very grave indeed.

7. "How do you know, mother? Have you ever been there?" asked the youngster.

8. "No, child; but your father was lost in the great world, my son,"

and Mrs. Mouse's voice had a little shake in it.

9. "Ah!" said the son, "that was for want of knowing better."

10. "Knowing better! Why, he was the wisest mouse alive!" said the faithful Mrs. Mouse.

11. "I could not have been alive then," thought White-paw to himself.

Then he said aloud, "Mother, I have made up my mind to go and see the world; so good-by!"

12. His mother wept. She tried to have him stay at home and be content--but all in vain; so she gave him a great hug, and he was off.

LESSON XXVII.

_WHAT THE MICE SAW IN THE FARM-YARD._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

1. He had not gone many steps when he met Mr. Gaffer Graybeard, a wise old mouse, and a great friend to the family.

2. "Well, where are you off to, Mr. Pertnose?" he asked, as the young traveler was whisking by. "I'm off to see the world," was the answer.

3. "Then good-by, for I never expect to see you again; but take an old mouse's advice, and beware of mouse-traps." "What are mouse-traps?"

asked White-paw. "You will know when you see them," was the answer.

4. White-paw went on his way, and just outside he met another young mouse who had also started to see the world, and the two went on together.

5. "Oh, how big the world is!" said White-paw, as they went into the farm-yard, and began to look about them.

6. "And what queer creatures live in the world!" said the other, as the c.o.c.ks crowed, the hens clucked, the chickens peeped, the cow lowed, the sheep bleated, the pigs grunted, and the old house-dog barked.

7. "If we are to find out about the world, we must ask questions,"

said White-paw.

8. So the two friends went about, stopping every now and then to admire or wonder at the new things they saw every moment.

9. Soon they came across a friendly-looking pig. "Please, sir," asked the wee simple things, "are you a mouse?"

10. The pig looked down to them through his "specs" as he heard the question in the tiny little squeaking voice, and he grunted a little as he replied:

11. "Yes, if you like to call me so," and the two friends went on.

12. In a little while they came up where the old cow was feeding; and White-paw, taking off his hat, said, "Please, are you a mouse?"

13. The old cow was too busy to answer such questions, but she shook her head in such a way that the travelers were glad to get off safe.

14. "There are great friendly mice, and great unfriendly mice, in the world!" said White-paw, as they went on their way.

15. Next they met a motherly old hen, who was busy in scratching up food for her chickens; and White-paw asked, "Please, ma'am, are you a mouse?" "We don't mind what folks call us," said the old hen, giving them a friendly wink.

16. As they went on they learned a great many things about the world; but as yet White-paw had not heard one word about a mouse-trap.

17. Having gone around the farm-yard, White-paw and his friend went through the gate toward the house. Here they met the dog, and asked the same question that they had asked before.

18. But the dog barked and snapped so that they could not make him hear, and they ran away in terror.