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Show BjBEDTIhERIES S.1KK AT IjAKT I By Thornton W. Burgess Safety Is a bleslng that few appreciate Vnti! In time of danger alas! It seems too late. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse Never since the Groat World waa he-gun he-gun had there been a more f rlghtcnod I -small person than was the runaway, little son of Whitefoot the Wood' Mouse iia he dodged around a tall. I dead stub in the Oreen Forest wPh jSharpshtn the Hawk trying to oatoh him As he dodged he kept climbing I higher and higher Already ho had' two dreadful adventures. one with I Buster Bear and one with Roddy Fox. When he had escaped from Redd) b) clltnbing that tall dead stub he had! I thought himself safe. You see he knew so little of the Great World that ' '11 hadn't entered IiIh little head that hel could be In danger up there. There was nothing to do but to keep jon dodging and climbing His on hope was that Pharpshin would be-conie be-conie tired and give up trying to catch ' him. Every time Sharpshin dashed :it him and ho dodged It seemed to him i that hln heart would Jump right of his mouth. He knew he couldn't keep up dodging for erv long Hel wan growing tired already Soon he would be Just too slow and then those terrible daws of Sharpshin would catch him Higher and higher the little Mouse climbed, and tound and round that! stub he dodged. What should he do when he reached the top? The little I Mouse didn't know The 'truth Is hei dldn t give a thought to It. He dldn'f think at all. He had to give every! bit of attention to just dodging. Sharp-shin Sharp-shin wheeled ln tOie air suddenly and' made an unexpected daab at him. With' a faint little squeak the little, Mouse 'lodged around to the other side of the "tub Just barely in time. Perhaps you can guess, though I don't believe you can how he felt whvn nhere right in front of him Was a little round hole. The little Mouse didn't stop to fin. i out if anyone was Inside. He Just popped right in. He knew tnat inside there would be nothing noth-ing worse than this terrible winged hunter outside Sharpshin screamed. It was a scream of anger and disappointment. disap-pointment. Never had the little Mouse heard sui.vh a dieadful sound clear to the tip of his long tall. After that scream all was quiet Ymi set- Sharpshin had flown away. He - 1 1 ' 4 Votoi had the little moose heard such a drciidlul sound. knew that he had to look some-whet'" else for a dinner The little Mouse crept down inside that hollow and there he found a soft, comfortable bed It was j H , h a b j us hi. had had in the homo ho had so foolishly fool-ishly run away from. There was no one in uhat hollow. He waa safe at last. At least he was safe for the present. Of course the owner of that home might com.- and drive hirn out Hut he didn't Intend to worr, about that unlit It hdonene.1 i Jh. sobbed the little Mouse. Vhat a terrible place the Great World Is. Had I known how terrible It Is, I never would have 1. ft home And now I don't know where home Is. I run t gO back there b, :1Use I don't know th.-way. th.-way. I want my mother. Yes, sir, 1 iWant my mother " But after he had rested a bit the little Mouse felt better ii- examined the Inside of that hollow from top to bottom. It seemed to him the finest house that could be He wond.red who owned it lie began to hope thai nobody did If nobody did he would make n his home. He curled up in" the soft bed and went to sleep. You see he was completely tired out. He had no fear in going to sleep for ho was safe at last. (Copyright. 1922. bv T. W Burgess.) The next story: "A Wonderful Iouble Surprise" |