Show thomson W Bur burgess burchess cress HOW LITTLE MITE WAS SAVED tiona PHE HE days and nights were very long to little mite the runaway baby of danny meadow mouse and he wished and he wished and he wished that he never had thought of trying to see the great world now that he was out in the great world it seemed to him a dreadfully cruel place and he feel safe a minute not a single minute it seemed to him that no sooner had he escaped one danger than he walked straight into another yet au all the time he was trying his best to keep out of danger he thought of that dear safe home under the pile of old cornstalks corn stalks a great many times and wished with all his heart that he was back there with his brothers and aff 4 N 3 J Z killi I 1 I 1 I 1 tok ak J he half closed his wings and shot down with his great cruel claws stretched wide sisters he wondered if they missed him and if his father and mother had tried to find him when he thought that he might never see them again for he had tried and tried to find his way back and his eyes filled with tears but he have a great deal of time for this kind of thing he was too busy getting enough to eat and trying to keep out of trouble he was learning how to take care car of himself but the lessons were very painful sometimes and he realized how much better it would have been to have been content to stay at home and have been taught these things by his father danny meadow mouse he had just learned that the eggs of birds are very delicious eating but at the same time he had learned that one must be very sure that the owner of the eggs is nowhere about and as a result resul t he ached and smarted all over you see he had been caught by little friend the song sparrow right in little friends nest next time he would be more clever when he stole eggs so little mite wandered on looking for a 2 place to live in peace and comfort and at last he came to the edge of farmer browns cornfield of course he know it was a cornfield he thought the young corn was simply another kind of grass he ran out into the field and actually y hopped and skipped for it was so good to have room enough you se see e he had been so long struggling through thick grass or running in narrow little paths that to have room enough to jump in was enough to make him forget all his troubles had he been older and wiser he would have known that it was a very dangerous thing for a meadow mouse to venture out in such an open space in broad daylight and he would have ventured there only at night but little mite still had much to learn the warm beams of jolly round bright mr sun poured down between the rows of corn and little mite just forgot everything but play he dug a little in the soft earth he ran and danced and jumped he tried to catch his funny little short tail and chased it round and round so little by little he got farther and farther out in the cornfield and away from the safe thick cover of the green meadows right in the midst of the maddest chase aft er that little short tail a shadow passed over him A sudden chill ol of fear clutched his heart he lo 10 looked 0 ked up there was a great bird sailing aa aling overhead he know who it was but he guessed he had heard danny meadow mouse tell about fierce the hawk and something told him that the great bird with the keen eyes was now it if little mite had been under something he probably would have sat perfectly still which would have been the right thing to do but he was right out in the open and at the sight of those hungry looking eyes a great terror took possession of him and he just keep still as he should have done with a little faint squeak of fright he ran now the instant he ran saw him with a few strong beats of his great wings he was right over little mite he half closed his wings and shot down with his great cruel claws stretched wide something prompted mite to dodge just then as he had learned to do in the games at home missed him and had to fly back up in the sky to try again twice this happened and then quite suddenly gave up the chase and flew away you see mite had been running straight toward what looked like a man and dared go no nearer and that is how a scarecrow saved the life of little mite meadow mouse T W burgess service |