Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-12-02


wonder whose it was. don't you?
1t was very nice home. 1t was. in
fact. the finest home Danny and Nanny
Meadow Mouse ever had, finer than
they ever had expected to have. The
home they had left had been very COM
Portable, but very modest. 1t had been
made of grass and down on the ground.
But this new home was right up in the
very middle of the corn shock where
there would be no dampness to worry
about. The outside was made of strong.
clean outer husks stripped from ears
OIL corn. and the inside was made from
the softer inner husks. The bed was
made of shreds of these same soft
wrappings from the corn together with
some brown corn silk and soft sweet
grasses. 1t was quite waterproof and
windproof, very snug, coZy and COM
Portable.
In the building of it Nanny had quite
forgotten to be homesick. You know
there is nothing like keeping busy to
make you forget. 1t isn't exactly for
getting, either. 1t is simply that if YOU
put your heart and thought into the
work you are doing, and do it with all
your might. there is no time to think
OF your troubles. SO while Nanny had
been so busy planning and building this
new home she had not had time to long
Tor the old home. And when at last the
new nome was finished it was such a
splendid home that Nanny would have
been very silly little meadow mouse
indeed not to have been happy and con-
tented.
OF course, Danny. had helped build
that new home. But he had had other
things to do. too. 1t had been for him
to md the easiest way from the ground
up to their new home, and just where
every ear of corn in that shock was
located and the best way of getting to
each. Then, of course Danny felt that
he must know something about the
other corn shocks nearest to their own
Supposing something should happen to
force them to leave their home in a
hurry. He couldn't imagine anything
that could happen, but supposing some
run to. No Meadow Mouse in his senses
would be content to have no place of
safety save his own home.
SO Danny visited the nearest
shocks and made little paths from one
to another OF course, he sampled the
corn in each. If there was any better
corn than that in his own shock he
wanted to know it. He wanted the
best to be had. Then Danny did lot
of studying. That sounds like school.
doesn't it? Wen, Danny's studying was
different kind. He studied to find out
what dangers they were likely to face
and must watch out for in their new
surroundings. He had hoped there
were Hoile LOU see he 1elt that that
cornfield was a discovery of his own,
or at least of Bobby Coon's You re-
member it was Bobby Coon who had
shown Danny the way there But he
wasn't long in discovering that there
were just as many dangers to be
watched out for as there had been in
the old home on the Green Meadows
In fact there were the very same
dangers.
Reddy and Granny Fox seemed to
know all about that cornfieId, and
visited it quite regularly. So did
| Old Man Coyote. Not a night passed
that Hooty the Owl didn't sail over
it on noiseless wings at least once.
In the daytime Roughleg the Hawk
seemed to think it worth while to
. keep it under his keen eyes a good
part of the time. And then there
was Black Pussy, the big cat from
Farmer Browns home. She visited
the cornfield much oftener than she
ever had the Green Meadows Danny
hated her. She didn't have to hunt
for a living as the others did Danny
would fly in a rage at the sight of
her black coat.
But there was one advantage which
Danny was quick to appreciate.
From his home he could peep
out and watch his enemies He could
see when the way was clear In his
old home he had had to depend al