The Washington weekly post., 1900-09-18
WHY GRAY MOUSE
LAUGHED AT THE TRAP.
BY JOHN WALKER HARRINGTON.

!
/ Green-eyes, the cat, was very angry
when he found that the man thought
I that he could not catch mice. He was
afraid that he would be put out in the
kennel with the dog. He and the dog
/ had never been very good friends. and ne
+ did not like the idea of being in the same
/ house with an animal with such sharp
/ teeth and such harsh voice.
/ Green-eyes used to sit up all night with
| his paw on his head, saying, Let me
/ think" The neighbors' cats came out on
/ the back fence and made fun of Green
eyes all night long.
| "It's too bad" they meowed. that you
cannot see in the dark. Why you cannot
] even see a big white rabbit"
Gray Mouse and his friend White Rae-
/ hit went every night to the cellar of the
mans house, where they helped them
| selves to cake and apple pie and cheese
| and carrots. Green-eyes heard the man
| say that ii was time to drown that good
1 for-nothing cat. He saw that ii was time
/ for him 70 do something TO save his life,
| and so he kept on thinking and thinking.
| He crawled under a pile of carrots on
| the cellar floor one night and the carrots
| fell all over him and hid him all except
| Ilt I'D Vi iliO tall AEA At NotLNa ANA
White Rabbit and Gray Mouse.
Now, that night Patrick OPossum went
| to visit Gray Mouse and White Rabbit.
| He was a friend OF Gray Mouse's cousin.
/ Field Mouse, and whenever he went under
the barn floor, where Gray Mouse and
White Rabbit lived, he was very welcome
''Gray Mouse" asked Patrick OPossum,
''do you know where 1 can get any good
sweet potatoes?"
| Gray Mouse winked at White Rabbit
and said that he knew where there were
sweet potatoes nearly a foot long and so
| sweet that sugar tasted like vinegar COM
pared TO them. Patrick O'Possum sighed
and looked happy.
'I'll take you to the next moonlight
party have" he said. 'if you will show
me where can find those very fine sweet
/ potatoes"
| So Patrick O'Possum. Gray Mouse. and
| White Rabbit went running and hopping
| and laughing to the cellar of the mans
| house. Patrick O'Possum turned TO Gray
Mouse and White Rabbit after he had
/ taken a good look around the cellar, and
/ then he smiled and smiled.
II like sweet potatoes very much" he
whispered as he drew White Rabbit and
| Gray Mouse close to him, 'but / would
not give a cent bushel for all the car
/ rOts in the world. If l had white fur and
| long ears / would rather eschew those
/ carrots over there than chew them"
/, Then Patrick O'Possum poked Gray
Mouse and White Rabbit In the ribs and
| laughed inside The sweet potatoes were
in a large swinging box near the pile Of
carrots Patrick o'Possum jumped UP and
got on top of the box. He took out some
sweet potatoes and tossed them down on
| the floor. White Rabbit picked them up
and carried them out of the cellar, while
| Cray Mouse stood by. There was a long
shelf above the swinging box, where the
sweet potatoes were. and on this shelf
were jars Of jelly and jam and spleed wa
| termelOn and all kinds of good things
At one end was big jar of apple butter
After Patrick OPossum had thrown down
all the sweet potatoes that he wanted he
crept along the shelf and gave the jar OF
! apple butter a hard push. Ii fell, struck
| the edge of the sweet potato bin, broke
all to pieces. and apple butter and broken
/ jar and all fell right on top OF the pile of
carrots. There were the queerest sounds
which came out of that pile of carrots
| that you ever heard. Green-eyes meoWed
and cried and kicked and arched up his
back. He shook up that pile Of carrots as
though there was an earthquake In the
cellar. Then, all covered over with apple
butter and little carrots and bits of bro
ken crock. he went up the cellar stairs
yelling and screaming at every step.
White Rabbit and Patrick OPossum
picked up all the sweet potatoes thar ;hey
! could carry and ran away TO the barn.
Gray Mouse led the way. As. they hur-
ried along they got A glimpse Of the man
who was coming down the hall ir his
night clothes with gun over HE shout
der. Just AS the White Rabbit, the Gray
Mouse. and Patrick O'PossnTn. scampered
under the barn floor they heard bang
bang from the porch Of the mans house
THAT must have been shotgun" SAID
White Rabbit, as ne stroked his whiskers
and smiled
"um, um," said Patritk O'Possunn.
'but these are good sweet potatoes This
is more fua than o coon hunt"
Green-eyes never went back TO the
mans house again. Many of bis friends
thought that tine man had shot him. and
the next night 5ut on the back ward fence
al the aeighbors' cats met together and
sang his funeral song. ! think, though,
that Green-eyes was rot killed. One Gay
when I was out hurting IN the woods
stopped iC take 4 dri7k az little spring
and a funny llttle lizard stood on the
edge and said:
Excuse ne, Mr. HuEtsr. but d!d you
ever see an apple-butfer cut?'
Copyright. 800. by Mcclure. Phlilipx Col
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