The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-10-19
Singing Mice.

A four footed creature that sings is GER
tainly curious enough to have its existence
doubted, and many people do not believe
that such thing as a singing mouse has
ever been seen, or, more correctly speaking,
heard. 1t has, though, and in a certain
house beloved of mice generally what
sounded like the voice of a very small bird
was often heard in the wall. A trap was
set for the uproarious ones that kept up a
constant squeaking and gnawing, besides
nibbling every Wand that they could pos
sibly get at, and one night the dainty bits
of cheese lured into captivity mouse that
looked like other mice and acted like
wren. Such a quivering, musical little
MARBLE could scarcely come from any other
throat than that of the tiny bird.
But it was soon proved beyond doubt
that mousie did it himself, and that he must
be the very singer who gave the mysterious
wall concerts, so the next thing was to
make him u cage 1t was quite an uncom-
mon one, as uncommon as he was himself
a glass globe covered with netting. A
warm nest was arranged in it, and the Gu
rious little performer took very kindly to
his luxurious quarters He had Of course
the best cheese to nibble at, and he evil
IDENTIFY considered himself in clover. Heput
on airs, too, and seemed to know when he
was being watched. At such times he
would raise himself up and try with all his
small might and main to act like a canary.
Sometimes he would hold up one paw, and
then he was full fledged prima donna,
sending forth such loud notes that it was
almost startling to hear him.
But an easy life did not seem to agree
with the amusing little rodent, and posi-
bly, he pned for the home in the wall, with
its boundless freedom, where he may have
left "his young barbarians at play" In
few days he died without any apparent
cause, and the experiment of caging sing
ing mouse was altogether unsuccessful.
Other four footed warblers have been
! kept in good condition for a much longer
time, giving abundant opportunity to
make some very interesting discoveries in
regard to their musical organs. They do
not, it appears, sing with their Threats,
! like other songsters, but with their noses
Their vocal chords are vibrating folds of
the skin at the outlet of each nostril, and
the performer can vary the tone from high
to low by using more or less force in ex-
polling the air When quite by himself
the sound produced by the singer resem-
bles that Of an 4Golan harp, but in a cage,
when the small prisoner is often singing
for effect, the notes are much holder.
A cat purrs very much in the same way
as a mouse sings and both are signs Of com
fort and satisfaction. But the mouse's
song, unlike that of the cat, has given rise
to many absurd superstitiOns, and houses
have acquired the bad reputation of being
haunted because of singing mice in the
walls. The soft wailing sound which the
song then assumes is said to come from the
uneasy spirits of those who have been muir
dered, and the servants who are frightened
by the singing mouse could never be made
TO believe that the continual picking and
stealing from the pantry are done by the
singer himself and his near relatives For
although it seems as il so gifted a creature
should be above such night marauding, he
is really no better than his commonplace
companions drper's Young People.