The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-12-25
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Little Mrs. Harvest-Mouse loved a
hedge bottom. She always said it was
more private than the open field, and
also she thought about the farmer and
how he comes to cut the corn, but
leaves the long, stiff grass in the hedge
bottom safe and standing when the
corn is all carried away to the barn.
So when Mr.. Harvest-Mouse began to
talk to Mrs. Harvest-Mo about
where to build their home she begged
him to choose the long, stiff grass In
the hedge bottom rather than the corn
In the field. That Is how it happened
that their tiny nest was built between
the grass stems, and they built it very
cunningly of narrow blades and bits of
feather or any soft and bending stuff
that they could find, and they fixed
them all In such a clever way that at
last wee round nest no bigger than a
cricket ball was fixed high up among
the stiff green stalks as if it grew there
by itself. 1t was soft and light and
very thin, so the summer air blew gent
~ through and kept it nicely aired.
The taller grasses standing round
about hid it from the hawks, and a lit
tie bindweed then grew up and helped
them. 1t twined around the stems and
twisted It's tendrils from one to anoth-
er, then hung its tiny bells about and
made merry garden near the nest.
Mr.. Harvest Mouse was very pleased
when all was done and felt happier
still when eight little baby mice were
snug and safe inside. They fitted into
the soft, round ball quite perfectly,
which shows how wee they were.
And now through the hot summer
days, while Mrs. Harvest Mouse was
busy with the children, Mr.. Harvest
Mouse was running here and there col
lecting news for his wife and flies and
other food for himself and for his fam
lily. What a gay, clever, little mouse
he was, and as for her, she was the
quickest, daintiest little lady in the
land, and she taught her children to be
quick and dainty too. She also taught
them to be good, though what she
would have done had they been
naughty l cannot tell, for there was
not corner in the house to stand them
in.
She ran nimbly all about the outside
of the nest, and when the little ones be-
gan to bite each others tails for fun
she patted gently through the open net
work of the walls and told them how
their long tails would be useful when
they came to climb the tall, stiff grass
es in the green and may world Of the
hedge bottom where they lived. And
the bindweed quite agreed in what she
said, for it knew the value of a tail to
hold by.
One warm evening the little mother
sat on the top of her little round house,
while Mr.. Harvest-Mouse was chatting
with a neighbor in the corn close by,
and then 1t was she told the children a
great deal about the world. She told
them how as she sat there she could
see the green grass blades bending over
her and a sweet bindweed bell swing
gently under the weight of humble
bee. She said that far away, quite high
above the bindweed bells, quite high
above the grass blades in the hedge
bottom, even higher than the corn,
there was blue, blue sky. She could
see patches of it now as she looked up
through their tangled screen.
The tiny mice inside the nest got rest
less at the very thought of that, and
they asked her to get bit and poke it
through for them to see.
81
are great things that you cannot under
stand in the big world, and one of them
is the blue, blue sky. 1t is only to look
at, not to touch, and some day you will
learn that it comes with the sunshine
and goes when it rains. A lark once
told me that he loved it even more than
the green world, for though the sweet
grass cools his breast and holds his
nest and his little ones, yet the blue,
blue sky is quite full of joy and goes
far up above the farmhouse smoke and
above the hawks and Is wider than the
widest field, and though he were to
sing his heart out from dewy dawn to
sunset he could never fill it all with
music. Oh, the big blue sky is very
wide, indeed, and very far away, as
you will see one day when you are
strong and quite grown up
Just then a gnat few by, and Mrs.
Harvest Mouse sprang up and caught
it and gave it to the children through
the wall, for though she talked about
the sky she knew that they were hum
CRY and saw the gnat and caught it
cleverly.
And now that the sun was getting
low she talked about the winter. She
said as surely as the night came on
when the daylight died away so surely
would the winter come when summer
time was ended.
What could the winter be? the chill
dren thought, and one wee mouse made
bold to say he did not care, and it
might come any time for him. He had
lust caught and eaten a tiny fly that
had ,fept through the network of the
nest. and he would catch and eat the
winter, too, no doubt. Why not? He
was getting strong and bold enough for
anything.
His mother gave a pat where his lit
tie ear showed pink between the grass
es and silenced all his silly talk at once
and then went on to tell how the win
ter was as far beyond their thinking as
the blue, blue sky was high above their
heads.
"The warm, soft wind that rings our
bindweed BELLS" she said, land makes
sweet music in the grass will turn to
cold and bitter blasts that will blow
the leaves about, and then the bells
will wither one by one and fall away,
and the grasses will turn quite dull and
dry and rub against each other with a
shrill and fearsome sound as the wind
sweeps up along the hedge bottom"
At that the little mouse, whose ear
was tingling still, felt frightened, and
he quivered while his mother talked
and wondered what would come of 1t.
She knew just how he felt and now
she gave him comfort and advice about
the future, and she told them all what
they must do. "For," said she, 1.-The
winter is too great and strong for tiny
creatures like ourselves, and so while
the big world and the hedge bottom are
bearing the cold weather we may sleep
quite peacefully, each in tiny hole,
until the winter time is over and the
summer comes again. You must seek
your holes when the right time comes
and then be sure to curl your tails well
in to keep them from the frost"
They all squeaked little promise to
u - II
they knew better, and then they whis-