Toto's Merry Winter Part 6

"'I am a boy!' cried I, getting angry in my turn. 'I wouldn't have a tail if I was paid for it; and I will _not_ leave this hole!'

"And then the old cat humped her back, and grinned till I saw every tooth in her head, and came flying at me,--claws spread, and tail as big round as my arm. There we fought, tooth and nail, fist and claw, till we were both out of breath. Finally I got her by the throat, and she made her teeth meet in my arm, and there we both were. I had heard no noise save the cat's screeching in my ear; but now, suddenly, a great growly voice, close beside us, cried,--

"'Fair play! fair play! no choking!'

"We both dropped our hold, and looking up, saw--"

"Bruin and me!" interrupted the racc.o.o.n, joyously. "We were taking a quiet prowl in the rain, and hearing the scuffle, stopped to see what was going on. Such a pretty fight I had not seen in a long time, and it was really too bad of Bruin to stop it. How old Ma'am Wildcat's tail went down, though, when she saw him!"

"I am very glad he did stop it," said Toto. "I was quite a little chap then, you see,--only seven years old,--and it was going hard with me. I was frightened enough, though, I can tell you, when I saw Bruin standing there. He looked as big as an elephant, and I fully expected to be eaten up the next minute. But he said, in his great hearty voice,--

"'Give us your paw, my little fighting-c.o.c.k! And you, Mrs. Wildcat, be off! I gave you warning a week ago, when you killed the wood-pigeon's nestlings. Off with you, now, quick, or--'"

"And she went!" cried c.o.o.n. "Oh, yes, my dear, she went! And I went after her! I chased that cat for ten miles, to the very farthest end of the forest. She had the start of me, and kept it pretty well, but I was just overhauling her when we came to the open; she gave a flying leap from the last tree, and went crash through the window of a farmhouse which stood close at hand! I thought she would probably be attended to there; so I went back, and found Bruin and you as sociable and friendly as if you had been brought up in the same den,--you sitting in the hole, with your funny red legs hanging out (you were the queerest-looking animal I had ever seen, Toto!), and he sitting up on his haunches, talking to you."

"And he invited us both to supper!" cried Toto. "Don't you remember, c.o.o.n? That was the first time I had ever seen any of you people, and I was dreadfully afraid that I should be the supper myself. But we went to his den, and had a jolly supper. Bruin ate three large watermelons, I remember. He _said_ a man gave them to him."

"I think it very likely that he did," said c.o.o.n, "if Bruin asked him."

"And I showed you how to play leap-frog," continued Toto; "and we played it over Bruin's back till it was time for me to go home. And then you both walked with me to the edge of the forest, and there we swore eternal friends.h.i.+p."

"Ah!" said the racc.o.o.n, "that we did, my boy; and well have we kept the vow! And so long as c.o.o.n's tail has a single hair in it, will he ever cherish-- h.e.l.lo! what's that?" he cried with a sudden start, as a tiny brown creature darted swiftly across the path. "Woodmouse! I say, Woodmouse! stop a minute; you are just the fellow I want to see."

The woodmouse stopped and turned round, and greeted the two friends cordially.

"I haven't seen you for an age!" he said. "c.o.o.n, I supposed you had been asleep for a couple of months, at least. How does it happen that you are prowling about at this season?"

c.o.o.n briefly explained the state of the case, and then added:--

"I am specially glad to meet you, Woodmouse, for I want to consult you about something. There are some mice in the cellar of the cottage,--brown mice. Very troublesome, thieving creatures they are, and we want to get rid of them. Now, I suppose they are relatives of yours, eh?"

"Ahem! well--yes," the woodmouse admitted reluctantly. "Distant, you know, quite distant; but--a--yes, they _are_ relatives. A wretched, disreputable set, I have heard, though I never met any of them."

"You have heard quite correctly!" said the racc.o.o.n, warmly. "They are a great annoyance to the Madam, and to all of us. They almost take the food out of our mouths; they destroy things in the cellar, and--and in fact, we want to get rid of them."

The woodmouse stared at him in amazement. "Really, Mr. c.o.o.n," he said, laughing, "I should not have supposed, from my past acquaintance with you, that you would have any difficulty in getting rid of them."

Racc.o.o.ns cannot blush, or our c.o.o.n certainly would have done so. He rubbed his nose helplessly, somewhat after the fas.h.i.+on of Bruin, and cast a half-comical, half-rueful glance at Toto. Finally he replied,--

"Well, you see, Woodmouse, things are rather different from usual this winter. The fact is, our Madam has a strong objection to--a--in point of fact, to slaughter; and she made it a condition of our coming to spend the winter with her, that we should not kill other creatures unless it were necessary. So I thought if we _could_ get rid of those mice in any other way, it would please her. I suppose there is plenty of room in the forest for another family of mice?"

"Oh! as far as room goes," replied the woodmouse, "they have a range of ten miles in which to choose their home. I cannot promise to call on them, you know; that could not be expected. But if they behave themselves, they may in time overcome the prejudice against them."

"Very well," said c.o.o.n, "I shall send them, then. How are you all at home?" he added, "and what is going on in your set?"

Now it was the woodmouse's turn to look confused.

"My son is to be married on the second evening after this," he said.

"That is the only thing I know of."

"What?" cried c.o.o.n. "Your son p.r.i.c.k-ear? Why, he is one of my best friends! How strange that I should have heard nothing of it!"

"We didn't know--we really thought--we supposed you were asleep!"

stammered the woodmouse.

"And so you chose this time for the wedding?" said the racc.o.o.n. "Now, I call that unfriendly, Woodmouse, and I shouldn't have thought it of you."

The woodmouse stroked his whiskers, and looked piteously at his formidable acquaintance. "Don't be offended, c.o.o.n!" he said.

"Perhaps--perhaps you will come to the wedding, after all. Eh? of course we should be delighted."

"Yes, to be sure I will come!" said the racc.o.o.n, cheerily. "_I_ don't bear malice. Oh, yes! I will come, and Toto shall come, too. Where is it to take place?"

"We--we have engaged the cave for the evening," said the woodmouse, with some diffidence. "We have a large family connection, you know, and it is the only place big enough to hold them all."

c.o.o.n stared in amazement, and Toto gave a long whistle.

"The cave, eh?" he said. "I should say this was to be something very grand indeed. I should like very much to come, Woodmouse, if you think it would not trouble any of your family. I promise you that c.o.o.n shall be on his very best behavior, and--I'll tell you what!" he added, "I will provide the music, as I did last summer, at the Rabbit's Rinktum."

"No, not really! will you, though?" cried the little woodmouse, his slender tail quivering with delight. "We shall be infinitely obliged, Mr. Toto, infinitely obliged, sir! We shall count upon you both. Bring Cracker, too, and any other friends who may be staying with you. Would your grandmother, possibly--eh? care to come?"

"Thank you!" said Toto, gravely, "I think not. My grandmother never goes out in the evening."

"We might bring Bruin!" suggested c.o.o.n, with a sly wink at Toto.

But here the poor little woodmouse looked so unutterably distressed, that the two friends burst out laughing; and rea.s.suring him by a word, bade him good-day, and proceeded on their walk.

CHAPTER V.

"AND now," said the squirrel, when the tea-things were cleared away that evening, "now for dancing-school. If we are going to a ball, we really must be more sure of our steps than we are now. c.o.o.n, oblige me with a whisk of your tail over the hearth. Some coals have fallen from the fire, and we shall be treading on them."

"When the coals are cold," replied the racc.o.o.n, "I shall be happy to oblige you. At present they are red-hot. And meantime, as I have no idea of dancing immediately after my supper, I will, if you like, tell you the story of the Useful Coal, which your request brings to my mind. It is short, and will not take much time from the dancing-lesson."

Right willingly the family all seated themselves around the blazing fire, and the racc.o.o.n began as follows:--

THE USEFUL COAL.

There was once a king whose name was Sligo. He was noted both for his riches and his kind heart. One evening, as he sat by his fireside, a coal fell out on the hearth. The King took up the tongs, intending to put it back on the fire, but the coal said:--

"If you will spare my life, and do as I tell you, I will save your treasure three times, and tell you the name of the thief who steals it."

These words gave the King great joy, for much treasure had been stolen from him of late, and none of his officers could discover the culprit.

So he set the coal on the table, and said:--

"Pretty little black and red bird, tell me, what shall I do?"