The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1901-02-07
IN THE HEDGE BOTTOM
BY MARY ELLIOT.

How the Harvest Mice Built
Their Home.

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-Mouse 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 clever way that at
last a 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
ly 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 its tendrils from one to anoth-
or, then hung its tiny bells about and
made a 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
ho1
which shows how wee they were.
And now through the hot summer
days. while Mrs. HarvestMouse 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 it 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 a 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.
You silly, silly Ones" she said. there
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. lark once
told me that he loved it even more than