Evening star., 1942-04-18
Bedtime Stories
By THORNTON w. BURGESS

It wasn't long before Danny and
Nanny Meadow Mouse found Just
the right place to make their home
and it wasn't long either before four
little new meadow mice arrived.
and four very lively babies they were
II was some time before Danny
could tell them apart. You see.
when they were very.a very little,
before they had any clothes at all.
they looked exactly alike TO Danny
He didn't pretend to tell them apart
then. He said they were as much
alike as four blades of grass from
one stem. and for his part he didn't
believe there was the teeniest.
weeniest difference.
Nanny was indignant. There is.
too" she asserted They are
wrinkled differently; so now"
Danny smiled. They were wrinkled
There was no question about that.
He was quite willing to take Nanny's
word for 1t, that the wrinkles were
different on the four darlings, but,
as he said. what was the use of
learning to tell them apart by their
wrinkles when they would so soon
have little fur coats to cover all
the wrinkles. What good would
they do them He would have TO
learn all over again to tell them
apart. But Danny didn't have to
wait long for them to get those
little fur coats. You see. like a
great many little people Of the
Green Meadows and the Green For
est. meadow mice have no under
wear. and so they wear fur coats
even in hot weather; only then the
fur coats are very. very much thin
ner than the ones they wear in
winter. Well. when they did get
them, Danny was more puzzled than
ever, for, Of course, they looked
more alike than ever.
But when he and Nanny decided
to name the babies. Danny studied
them very carefully so that he would
know which was which. One they
named Teeny. Danny was sure that
he could remember Teeny by the
way In which he kept his ears, all
the time wide open, so as not to
miss anything. Weeny was the
name of another, and Danny hoped
he would be able to tell her when
he saw her by the twinkle in her
eyes, for Weeny was very, very
merry. The third was named Midget,
and Danny was sure he could tell
her because she didn't have her
ears forever cooked as did Teeny.
and her eyes were not merry as were
Weeny's. The last one of all was
named Mite, and Danny was abso-
lutely sure of him because his tail
was shorter than 1t really ought to
have been. Danny thought the tails
of all meadow mice shorter than
they ought to be, but this time
there was no doubt about it at all.
Mites tail was shorter than the
tails OF his brother and sisters.
1t was the day on which the
babies were named that Danny and
Nanny had their great fright and
were thrown into the deepest de-
spair. No one had found out their
secret yet, and they were hoping
no one would. anyway-not until
the children were old enough to
take care OF themselves. Then,
without any warning whatever,
something terrible happened! Both
Danny and Nanny were home at
the time. without the least warn
ing the whole upper half of that
old pile of cornstalks in which they
had built their home was lifted of,
and there was their home exposed
to the view of whoever happened
along! Can you imagine anything
more dreadful? And Danny and
Nanny feared something even more
dreadful, for, bending over their
little home was-whom do you
think? Why, Farmer Browns Boy,
to be sure! 1t was he who had
lifted off the upper half Of the old
pile of cornstalks. He was cleaning
up, and, of course, he hadn't known
anything about that nice home of
Danny and Nanny Meadow Mouse.