Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-10-04
A QUEER LITTLE HOUSE.
A Description of It's Pecuiiarities-who
Built II, and Who Was Its owner?

I
Description of Its Peculiarities-wh
Built It, and Who Was Its owner?
The house was in a pond. People
passed along the road in fun sight OF it.
but never saw it. Boys came and
caught frogs and chased turtles and
captured blood-suckers, but did not
notice it, In plain sight it was, not
twenty feet from the shore. The roof
was covered with a thatch OF rushes, TO
keep out the rain. Within, there was
one room, a coy bedroom. with a bed
OF dry grass, as soft rs down. The
walls were of mud. There were no
pictures hanging on them; nor was
there either stove. chair, table or dish
in the mansion. There were no win
dows There were no chimney. And
the door was under water This house
had a wet cellar-in fact, it was full OF
water.
The ducks often swan close TO the
house, plunging their broad bills into
the mud. and sometimes diving out of
sight; but they never tried to enter.
The frogs sat on the large lily leaves
near by, and croaked long and loud;
but not one went in. The turtles some
times climbed to the roof to sun them
selves, but they never went inside. The
meadow mice had little houses of their
own, and laid no claim to this. None
of these pond people claimed it. Who,
then was the owner? Who built the
house?
One day. one of the boys discovered
the house. At first, he thought il was
an old bushel basket upside down; but,
as he looked more carefully he saw that
somebody or something must have built
it right whore it was He wondered
when il was done and who did it. He
lived close to the pond, and could see
the whole of it from his chamber win
dow; vet he had never seen this build
ing before. Almost every day. after
school, he played in the field near the
pond; but he had never noticed the
builder. He made up his mind TO
examine ii carefully, and, if pos
sible, solve the mystery that surround
ed it.
The mud and water were so deep
that he dared not wade out, and he
had no boat How should he reach
the little mud island on the edge OF
which it stood2 After thinking some
time he went to the lumber pile, and
took several boards and brought them
to the shore These he laid across the
tussocks Of pond-grass till he had a
bridge leading right up to the curious
building. II was a very narrow and
exceedingly shaky bridge. 1t bent and
tipped, as the boy stepped upon it. In
his hand he held long stick, which he
thrust into the mud to steady himself
In this way he sided along, carefully
balancing, step by step, till he was al
most there. Once he stuck the stick
so far down that he had to give quite a
hard pull in drawing it out; and, when
It did come he almost fell over back
ward.
Step by step he moved slowly on, and
at last reached the house. Once there,
he examined it with a great deal of
wonder 1t was so soundly made, so
nicely matched, so perfectly rounded!
With his stick he raped gently on the
roof. There was rustic, a plunge, and
something darted through the water and
was gone. So quick and unexpected
we're the motions that the boy could not
decide whether it was fish or an ami
NAL. As he examined the dwelling, he
saw leading from the underwater door
a pathway in the soft mud ON the bot
tom of the pond Following it with his
eyes, he noticed that it led far out into
the deep water. He resolved to watch
the path, hoping to have longer look
at the stranger.
For several days he watched, but saw
nothing unusual At last, one evening,
just at twilight, he saw, swimming
slowly up the pathway, its nose barely
showing above the water, brown ami
NAL. Hardly daring to move for fear
Of frightening it, he stole forward to
get a good long look. Nearer and
nearer swan the animal TO the water
cottage. till. diving through the door
way, it disappeared.
This, then, was the owner. the builder
of this queer little house, with its roof
of rushes and its cellar full of water.
So it was not the ducks, the mice, the
turtles nor the frogs that built the
house, but the big brown muskrat.
Pacific