Evening star., 1942-04-25
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS

by lnohNfoN W. bth1fcs-
Ire wori6 ss 80 lsrns and I an 50 small
should nsyer. no nsvsr, have left home
The time when Little Mite should
have thought OF that was before he
started. IT was too late nov. He
had left home and the worst OF II
vas he hadn't the least idea In the
world how to get back there again
He had just had a terrible adven-
ture and he felt that II was a
wonder that he was alive. He had
climbed a tall mullen stalk so as
10 get a view of the Great World
The first thing he had discovered
vas that close beside him was
terrible great creature. He had al
most fallen from fright, but had
managed 70 hang on. A minute
later something had hit him a
terrible blow and knocked him way
over in the tall grass. Though
Little Mite didn't know it, he had
simply been hit by the tail of Bossy
the Cow. who was none other than
the terrible creature he had seen.
As Little Mite lay in the tall grass
trying to get his breath he won
dered IL ever before a Meadow
Mouse had had such a terrible ad-
venture. He binked back the tears
and struggled 10 his feet as soon as
he could. His one thought was to
get as far away from Bossy the
Cow as he possibly could. Now. his
father. Danny Meadow Mouse,
would have known that there was
nothing at all to fear from Bossy
the Cow so long as he didn't allow
her to accidentally step on him, but
Little Mite, who thought himself so
smart and yet who knew so little of
the Great World. was sure that she
was looking for him to eat him alive.
Now, where he had fallen there
was no nice little path and he had
to work his way through the thick
growing grass stems. 1t was hard
work and it made him very tired
At last when he was almost in de-
spair he came out on what he
thought must be a great highroad.
1t was like the private little Meadow
Mouse paths along which he had
run away from home that morning,
only 1t was ever and ever so much
bigger and the grass didn't meet
over 1t. 1t was the Lone Little Path
that comes down from the Green
Forest across the Green Meadows
to the Smiling Pool, but, of course,
Mite didn't know that. He gave a
great sigh of relief. You see, it
seemed so good to be where he
could see something And still he
was a wee bit fearful. Never in all
his life had he been right out in the
open so. He would run out and
then scamper back to safety of
the tall grass. Then he would do
1t again Nothing happened and
so after a little he grew less and
less afraid.
"Pooh!" said he at last. There |
Is nothing to be afraid OF. How
silly of my father and mother to |
insist that we should always be
under something. 1t Is much |
pleasanter out here"
With that he marched along up |
the Lone Little Path quite as IL |
he owned 1t. He felt very impor-
tant and by this time had quite |
his terrible fright from |
BoSsy the Cow.
I'm all ready for another ad-
said he.
Hardly were the words out of his |
mouth when something quite |
the breath out of him. |
When at last he could understand |
he found that he was
pinned down by a great paw armed |
with dreadful claws. None of the |
claws touched him. but they were |
ready to II need be. Looking up. |
Little Mite saw two fierce, cruel, |
yellow eyes glaring down at him
out OF coal-black face. He re-
nembered right away what Danny
Meadow Mouse had told him about |
Black Pussy and he guessed who
had caught him. The paw pressing
nim down to the ground hurt, for,
you know, he was very little. He
squeaked with pain. Poor Little
Mite! He hadn't one hope left.
This, then, was to be the end of
his adventures in the Great World.
Poor Little Mite!