Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-03-31
that was a large as an elephant, thai
would show her, I'm sure, how sorrs


would show her, I'm sure, how sorrs
am
Billy thought long time about this,
and finally he came to the CONCLUSION
that it would have to be an enchantea
mouse-some thing that nobody else
had ever seen or found or given away
before. 1t must be Very Great
Deed of-Daring to catch it, becuasa
that kind of mouse can kill you.
Tell me, o WALL" said he. how
can | find my wav to the EnchaDtedT
Mouse as-Big an Elephant" m
But the wall didn't say anything. @
BY and by Billy looked around tor
think?
"That's it," he said Then he
squeezed right into it, and 1t didn't
take long for Billy to get way up the
hole on his way to look for the En-
chanted Mouse as-Big- asa Eleph-
ant.
The dust and the dirt were terrible,
and by and by it seemed to Billy he
had gone a long way, and he thought
he smelled the mouse. ),
He grew very excited and his tail
wagged backward and to and fro. as
much as the tight hole would let it.
He growled, just to cheer himself
up, because he was-yes, he was tina
weeniest, weeniest little bit scared! He
wondered if it was worth while to go
on and. possibly get killed by such
great, big, horrible-oh, no, mean
lovely Mouse-as-B Big as an Ele-
plant!
1t would be most dreadful to be kill
ed and then how the young lady lib
rarian would cry! How she would say
that she was sorry she had treated her
little kitty badly! How she would say
that she had never meant to call him
a "cat'' except as joke, because she
loved him! She surely would be sorry
that she had let George put him down
cellar wouldn't she?
II think said Billy to himself, 'she
may try to find me If l stay here long
enough" So he sat there in the hole
for very, very, very long time think.
about the Enchanted Mouse that he
was afraid of, and he didn't dare to go
and he didn't want to go back until.
he rad caught it and could carry 1t to
the librarian for q peace Offering. so
he stayed there.
1t must have been days he stayed
there in that hole thinking how sorry
the librarian would be to have him
gone.
Then, one day, he suddenly thought
"Supposing I should find her gone If
stayed here too long? She might run
away and look for me and get lost up
hole" That steeled Billy and he
started up, up the hole to the place
where he thought he would find the
lair of the Enchanted ouse- as Big
assam Elephant
He thought he was going to come
to great, great big hole, but.
Oh, dear! Oh, dear! 1t is too bad
that have to tell the truth, because
this is really true fairy story
What did he come to? oh. he came
to the back side Of an old storeroom
closet where there were lots and lots
of back numbers of magazines and old
newspapers, and where there was no
lair, and where there was not any En-
chanted Mouse as-B tg-as- an-F1e-
plant at all.
Billy felt-well. he felt rather funny.
It is queer feeling when you feel that
way, both sorry and glad at the same
minute. You see, he was sorry not to
get the wonderful mouse for the.
librarian, but he was rather relieved
not to have to fight it in it's liar.
He decided it was best, anyway, to
take nap, so he went to sleep on top
of a pile Of old newspapers.
But first he sat down to rest, and
blamed the wall.
20 Wall,' he said, "why did you tell
me there was an Enchanted-M Mouse
as-Big- as AMI Elephant here? You
ought to be ashamed of yourself"
But the wall never had said any
thing about it anyway. lit never does
saw anything.
Walls never tell one how to find
things hidden in them-electric wires.
and mouse holes and all kinds of
things. One has to make up ones
asks the wall it just says. Perhaps"
That's all it ever did say, and all it.
ever will say, so it never was to blame
at all for having told Billy stories.
After he had blamed the wall he
felt more comfortable, and he took
nap.
In the middle Of the nap he heard a
squeak Billy had caught little gray
mouse in his mouth 1t takes no time
to catch a mouse if you know how,
and if you are a trained library cat
and in your profession YOU know how.
1t didn't take long, I assure you, fol
Billy to start back with the mouse
through the hole.
| When he had gone about half way
he heard the librarian ealing, Kitty,
kitty, kitty!'
When he got almost out Of the hole
he heard her say: II wonder what
| can have become Of my precious pussy
cat!"
said should he turn on the electric
light in the cellar again and go look
for him? And the assistant librarian
said she was sorry Billy hadn't come
back, because he was such a little
dear.
Billy was so glad that he just scans
pered as fast as he could go, and his
feet made funny thump- thump
sound because he was in such a hurry.
He burst through the mouth Of the
hole and through the open cellar door,
and rubbed against her skirts and laid
his mouse at her feet and forgot all
about it's being peace offering.
She was so glad to see Billy that at
first she didn't see the mouse at all.
Then all of sudden she said "Oh!''
just like that-"Oh!" and then she
said Mercy" And then she screamed
just a little scream and said, Mercy.
look at that mouse Billy's brought me
its as big as an elephant"
BY that time she had run off with
Billy somewhere else-as far away as
/ possible.
And Billy knew 1t must have been
the enchanted mouse, after all, because
she said it really was as big as an
| elephant so he didn't question It, but