The San Francisco call., 1910-04-02


Fairy Detective, but it isn't so pretty
in our ears. A beautiful mouser, eh?
| suppose the ogres who used to eat
children would call themselves beauti-
full childers.
oUhi" said the little girl, and she
felt as if her backbone had turned to
an icicle. Lets not talk about ogres
Just at bedtime. How did you escape
the Angorav
II made dash for hole in the wall
and l got to it before she got to me. l
found the space between the walls.
That's the mouse's fire escape, you
know. / am going to look for that
mother mouse I'm searching this
house from garret to cellar to see If
there isn't some place where she is kept
prisoner She may have been lured
into cruel trap or captured by that
fiend of cat or that mouse murder
ing dog Do you happen to know of
any traps anywhere?'
There's one in the cellar" said Mary,
but the cook always looks after 1t
of a morning and browns any mice she
finds there"
browns themw squealed the mouse
"Oh, captivating cat whiskers! Would
you listen to the ogress Take her
away'
Does the cook always drown all the
nicer"
Always said Mary.
Always, always or just nearly al
ways?"
We'll, usually always" said Mary
sometimes she forgets. And now l do
be rememberin' that this very mornin
she was after telling me she had the
rheumatism that bad she couldn't man
age the cellar steps
The detective whisked his ears and
tapped his nose, exclaiming, Aha! IL
you'll pardon me I'll just have look
at that trap" The little girl slipped
her arms into her blue eiderdown bath
robe and slipped her feet into her
crocheted slippers and Mary put on a
shawl and the three started down
stairs.
They went very cautiously down the
dark cold stairway into the damp, dark,
dismal cellar.
over In a corner they found the trap,
a sort of beehive OF wire. And there
inside Of it, sure enough, was a lit
tie gray mouse running like mad
round and round the wire room.
The Fairy Detective approached and
said in mousese: Don't take on So
madame" he said; there is really no
danger They are not going to drown
you."
'rm not thinking of me-" squealed
Mrs Mouse: I'm thinking of my poor
little squeakers. Are they we'll? Has
the cat got them? Have they had any
food? Have any of those horrible hu-
mans found them? Do they miss their
motherT
YES. No. Yes, No. Yes" answered
the mouse. IF you will only be calm
everything will be all right"
The little girl was overjoyed at the
scene She insisted on picking the
trap up and carrying ii to the garret.
They went to the Bureau family no.
tel and opened the drawer which the
detective pointed out.
There the little girl found few bits
of fluff which would some day grow to
be mice if they weren't prevented. She
opened the trap and the mother mouse
dived into the nest and began nuzzling
her children about to see If they were
all there. They were rather stupid and
simply grumbled and cooed and whis-
tied in tiny way.
The little girl thought IL a beautiful
sight, but the detective said
Better come away, for when Mrs.
Molly comes to her senses she'll be
so scared at the sight of you that she'll
elope again"
So the little girl closed the drawer
and she and Mary and the detective and
the candle left the garret to darkness
and contentment. They went back to
the little girls room and the detective
put out his tiny paw to shake hands
Just then the detective caught sight
of the clock and exclaimed
"Capering cats! It's tomorrow and
/ ought to have gone Yesterday I'VE
another job on hand. There's trouble
among some goldfish In an aquarium
down the block. So goodby till we meet
again.
Don't gow pleaded the little girl.
and made a grab but she grabbed only
a handful Of air The elf mouse leaped