The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-01

Now we will play that we are on visit to an old lady such nice old lady, who lives in such q pretty little room. The old lady Is sitting by the window knitting stocking. In the corner near the window on bookcase stands n great big cage in which parrot sits, looking down into the street, where the children are playing and singing. Poor Polly can't sing he can only scream and whistle and say lots of funny things On the bureau, In front of the look ing glass. stands another cage, and in it sits Hansemann. and he can sing. There is also a little bird inside the looking glass who seems 10 be singing as hard as he can.
 "Teep. peep, peep." All at once there is little mouse peeplng out from behind the looking glass, and pretty soon he comes way out on the bureau, and he looks into Hanse- mann's cage. He stands on his tiptocs and stretches his neck, so that he can sec bet ter. and he sees that the glass is full of food. The little mouse looks wistfully at Hanse- mann and says: You have such lot or food and have not bitef Then he signs a little mouse sigh. Hansemann says noth- ing; he has not even seen the hungry littie mousse he has no time; he has to look and look ngain at the beautiful bird in the look ing glass. But what is that? Well, did you ever! Why if there is not little mouse In the looking glass, too! ''l will have to get up on the cage and look at him. says the little mouse. But the looking glass mouse is getting up, too, and looks back at hlm. Now our little mouse is awfully busy. What is he doing? Oh, he doesn't know what he is doing himself, but he sees very plainly that the looking glass mouse Is sitting way down in Hansemann' dish, eating the hemp seeds, so that the shells hang in his mus tache.
 But now Polly discovers the little mouse and begins to scream, Mother, there is thief. nasty thief, nasty thief"
 That was not me-" says the little mouse, and then he hurries down into his hole, where nobody can reach him.
 "It is a shame to have these little mice come here and steal" says the old lady, and she gets up and moves Hansemann's cage over on the window sill. Then she goes down into the kitchen and brings back
 
 Meanwhile the little mouse is sitting with his mother down in their dark hole, and he says to the mamma mouse:
 ..Now. if is so nice and light upstairs, and there is lots of room, too; I guess will go nm and see how Hansemann is getting aong.'
 Then he rms up again on the bureau. The little mouse has never seen such big mouse iran before. He looks at it and says:
 What is that? It must be new kind of caoc. but do not see any bird. Such nice white pine floor, and there IS both hemp seed and bacon on the floor, but the bars are so close together l am afraid would hurt my nose if I tried to get in" The little morso siohs he looks at the bacon, and cave. "ob how good it smells. Bacon was always my favorite dish. must get up on that cage and see what I can see." And so the little mouse gets on the cage.
 1,hara is a little round hole in the roof, +brouqh which he looks down on the floor; he can count the number Of seeds lying there, and he can see exactly now pig the s1jce of bac con is He counts one, two. three, four five six, them he puts his finger on his nose and says: "Let me think If there are six big mouthsfuls and l take just one little one. there will surely be six little mouthsfuls left, and, besides, who can re- member just how big each slice was" But as the little mouse Is counting 1t over and over he falls in through the hole He goes right away for the bacon and it tastes so good that it Is impossible to leave even speck of it: every bit goes down. Then he Ticks the floor where the bacon was lying and now he Is going right straight home. But he can't find the door. ch, this Is awful, He is caught! Now sne old lady comes over 10 the bureau.
 The old lady lifts the cage up and looks at the poor little mcusle. "So there you are v0, little thief Tt wasn't I,' says the lit fife mouse. What" says the old lady, it wasn't you; how is that?' NO" says the little mouse, fit wasn't I who ate Hanse- mann's food. but know who did it." Well, who did it?" says the old lady. Tt wasn't I at all who did 1t. 1t was the mouse in the looking glass. What, has the looking glass mouse been out stealing: = says the old lady; T can never believe that" "Yes," says the little mouse, flor he Is an awful