Show m thomson W burtless Burt fess ja hl 1 at 1 I WHERE THE HATS BATS WERE F BILLY MINK know IF I 1 where tt the rats wh who had lift left the big barn had gone to the farmer who owned the big barn and the henhouse and the wood woodpile P ile knew yes indeed the farmer and his family knew just where those rats were they were in the farmhouse you see the wise gray old leader ot of the rats knew the safest place for them was in that farmhouse in the first place it was big and that meant that there was plenty of room with ever and ever so many hiding places there was food there plenty of it to be stolen they could be very comfortable in that farmhouse wore more than this they would be safe from billy mink that gray old leader knew that billy mink would hesitate a long time about actually entering the house because of his fear of man he believe that billy would dream of looking for them in that house especially if he track them over there this billy do as the wise old leader very well knew because it had been snowing when the rats left the big barn and the falling snow had covered their tracks and destroyed the scent so while billy mink was looking under the woodpile and in the henhouse for those rats they were making themselves very much at home in the farmhouse they could climb about between the walls and go where they pleased the first thing to do was to make homes for the babies it take some of those rats long to find the w way ay to the attic now the attic was filled with trunks and boxes and papers and all sorts of odds and ends it was just ilist such a place as rits rats love right bight away the old mother rat rit began to tear up papers and make rags of clothing that hung ir the attic rags and paper make the finest kind of nest for a rat these nests they hid bid in dark places behind boxes and trunks and while they were busy with this the father rats set out to search for food it take them lo 10 long ng to ind find f the pantry and gnaw holes through the wall into it and they hey t were not quiet about their work either the farmer and the farmers wife knew what was going on they could hear the scamper of little feet across the attic floor and faint squeaks between the walls they could hear the gnawing graciously exclaimed the farm |