The Tale of Master Meadow Mouse Part 1

The Tale of Master Meadow Mouse.

by Arthur Scott Bailey.

1

A Fat Little Fellow

MASTER MEADOW MOUSE was pudgy. His legs were so short and his tail was so short and his ears were so short that he looked even fatter than he really was. And goodness knows he was plump enough--especially toward fall when the corn was ripe.

He lived in Farmer Green's meadow. And he never harmed anybody. For Master Meadow Mouse was fat and good-natured.

Friendly folk, such as Paddy Muskrat and Billy Woodchuck, liked him because he was good-natured. They always smiled pleasantly when they spoke of him. And unfriendly folk, such as Peter Mink and Tommy Fox, liked him because he was fat. When they mentioned him they always grinned horribly and licked their lips.

Now, it was a pity that in Pleasant Valley, where Farmer Green's meadow lay, there were many of the fat-loving kind. Not only Peter Mink and Tommy Fox, but Grumpy Weasel, Solomon Owl, Ferdinand Frog, Henry Hawk and even Miss Kitty Cat were usually on the watch for Master Meadow Mouse. Naturally, he soon learned to be on the lookout for them. And if he hadn't seen them first he would never have grown up to be _Mister_ Meadow Mouse.

In spite of all those enemies, Master Meadow Mouse managed to enjoy life in Farmer Green's meadow. Usually he found plenty of seeds to eat. He liked to swim in Broad Brook. And in winter, when the snow was deep, he made tunnels beneath it, and a nest, too, which was snug and warm under the thick white blanket that covered it.

The only time Master Meadow Mouse was ever known to lose his temper was when Farmer Green mowed the meadow. Under the high gra.s.s Master Meadow Mouse had been able to run about his well-beaten paths unseen by hawks.

But with the gra.s.s cut and raked, leaving only naked stubble, he couldn't hide even from old Mr. Crow. It was no wonder that he agreed with Bobby Bobolink's wife. The Bobolink family were so upset by haying that they moved to Cedar Swamp at the very first clatter of the mowing machine. And when Master Meadow Mouse bade them good-by Mrs. Bobolink said to him, "What a shame that Farmer Green should break up a happy home like ours!" And Master Meadow Mouse remarked that it was very careless of Farmer Green. "He might have waited till the snow comes, at least, before cutting the gra.s.s," said Master Meadow Mouse.

"You'd better move to Cedar Swamp with us," Mrs. Bobolink suggested.

"It's a fine place. I know, for we lived there last fall."

But Master Meadow Mouse didn't want to move.

"The gra.s.s will grow again," he explained. "Farmer Green can't stop the gra.s.s from growing, no matter how often he cuts it." And of course that was quite true.

After haying Master Meadow Mouse had to be more careful than ever. He knew that the hawks would scan the meadow many times a day in hopes of catching a glimpse of his reddish-brown back.

Luckily he succeeded in dodging them. And he dodged a good many other fierce rascals long after winter with its snow had descended on Pleasant Valley. Yet he never complained. He said that danger kept the days--and nights too--from being dull.

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2

A Peep at the World

WHAT is the earliest thing you can remember? Master Meadow Mouse's earliest memory was of lying in a soft nest of dried gra.s.ses. Sometimes the nest was in inky darkness; and then it was night. Sometimes a shaft of light fell upon the nest through a round hole just above his head; and then it was daytime.

That round hole went upwards--straight upwards--for about a foot. And when Master Meadow Mouse looked through it he could see, on pleasant days, a patch of brilliant blue, which was a bit of sky.

One day a desire seized him to touch that round blue spot. So when his mother was away he crawled up through the hole. But when he reached the other end of it he found, to his great surprise, that the blue disk was ever so much bigger than he had thought it, and seemed further away than it had when he gazed at it through the round tunnel.

All this was very puzzling. And he stood in the meadow near the mouth of the tunnel, peering around and wondering what this, that and the other strange thing might be. For he saw many wonderful new sights.

If his mother hadn't come home and found him out of the nest there's no telling what would have happened to him.

"Get back!" she cried, pushing him towards the mouth of the tunnel--their doorway. "It's a mercy Henry Hawk hasn't spied you."

Master Meadow Mouse hung back. He didn't want to be hurried away from the new world that he had just discovered.

"I don't see Henry Hawk," he squeaked.

Mrs. Meadow Mouse gave a sort of grunt.

"Humph! You wouldn't know him if you saw him," she retorted. "Besides, he could see you long before you could see him, for his eyes are wonderfully keen." Then she gave her son a poke that sent him into the tunnel and bouncing down upon the soft nest at the bottom of it. "You stay there until I come home again!" she called. "Do you want to go where your two brothers and your three sisters went?"

Mrs. Meadow Mouse did not wait for her son's answer. She went off again and left him to ponder over her question.

Master Meadow Mouse decided to mind his mother. Although he didn't know what had become of his squirming companions, who had already begun to crowd the nest, somehow his mother's query carried something of a threat. He wondered if the mysterious Henry Hawk had had anything to do with the vanishing of the rest of the children.

Master Meadow Mouse proved to be a hearty eater. And since he no longer had to share with others the food that his mother brought home to him, he grew fast. It wasn't long before Mrs. Meadow Mouse took him above ground with her and let him play near home.

She taught him many things--how to find ripe seeds to eat, how to keep still as a mouse and not squeak when there was danger of any kind, and how to dodge into their tunnel when there was need.

Little by little Master Meadow Mouse wandered further from his own dooryard. And he began to think that his mother was too careful. There seemed to be no need of heeding all her warnings.

Then came the day when he met the kitten from the farmhouse.

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3

The Kitten

MASTER MEADOW MOUSE had rambled about the meadow without paying much heed to safety. Although he still seemed to listen politely whenever his mother gave him a lecture on dangerous birds or beasts, half the time he didn't know what she was saying. He had decided that her fears were foolish. He was sure that nothing could harm him.

He was thinking that very thought one day when he came face to face suddenly with a huge, furry creature. At least the stranger seemed terribly big in the eyes of Master Meadow Mouse, though it was only a kitten belonging to Miss Kitty Cat, who lived at Farmer Green's house.

Like Master Meadow Mouse, the kitten was exploring the meadow. To her, as to him, it was a new world.

It would be hard to say which of the two was the more surprised.

"Oh!" Master Meadow Mouse squeaked right out loud. "I--I--I wish I'd stayed at home."