No More Learning

But this time she forgot all about the crackers, she
was 80 pleased over the pretty pink gown. It
must have belonged to a very tiny doll, for it was
just the right size for Dot, and she was such a
little mouse. When the birthday came Dot rigged
herself in her new dress and sat down to wait for
her guests. Mother Mouse was so slow fixing her
ruffled cap that Dot felt sure she would not be
ready in time, but Mother Mouse knew there was
no hurry. By and bye the mice came creeping in
and greeted their little hostess, with best wishes
for a happy birthday. The mice from the baker's
had been as good as their word, and each had
brought some sweet meat to add to the repast. So
there was no lack of good things for the feast.
But alas, alas, their fun was soon to be spoiled.
Mother Mouse had just nibbled a hole in the sugar
bag when a squeak from her daughter made her
look up, and there, almost upon them, stood oid Tab,
and close behind her on the stairs were her four
little kittens, each one anxious to secure a mouse
for supper. Then such a hurrying and scurrying
you never saw in all your life. It was too bad,
for poor little Dot expected such fun at her party.
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? Lady Nibble's Ball.
Scratch ! Scratch ! Scratch ! went the pen of
Lady Nibble. It was a quill that had fallen out
of the old gander's tail, and the bottle of blueing
that the farmer's wife had left on the hanging
shelf served splendidly for ink.
Lady Nibble was writing invitations for a ball.
The farmer's family were going to give a dance in
the new barn. Her Ladyship knew this was so,
for she had overheard the folks talking about it
when she went into the kitchen cupboard after
some cheese. She made up her mind at once that
this was the time to entertain her friends, as there
would be lots left to eat after the farmer's dance
was over. She went right to work and sent invi-
tations far and near.
Dicky Scratch had been invited to play the
music. He had a fiddle that had once adorned
the children's Christmas tree, but had been thrown
out as rubbish, until Dicky found it. Peter
Squeak was to call out the figures, his voice was
so high and shrill. The old clothes hamper that
had been banished from the house would serve as
a splendid stand for Dicky and for Peter Squeak
also.
Lady Nibble was all in a flutter of excitement
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? 230
Lady Nibble's Ball.
when the night arrived, and how pleased she was
when she found so many had responded to her in-
vitation. They came in dress coats, sacque coats,
cutaways and some less fortunate came without
coats -- but what they wore made no difference, for
everything was lovely, and the best of all Old
Katty Scamper and little Mousey Shy danced
together perched upon an old dish-pan that had
been turned up-side-down. How they all laughed
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? Lady Nibble's Ball.
231
when poor old Eatty forgot the smalluess of the
space on which he was dancing, and danced en-
tirely off.
They danced by twos and they danced by rights,
and before they could realize it the farmer's guests
were going home and Lady Nibble had invited
them to step into the barn and partake of refresh-
ments. What a feast they had ! Her Ladyship
had chosen wisely in selecting this night, for such
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? 232 The Adventure of the Mice.
rich dainties rarely fall to a mouse's lot with so
little trouble. There were dainty bits of cheese,
crackers, fine chicken and many other nice things,
but the very best of all was the box of chocolates
which old Ratty Scamper found hidden under the
table. He had tasted nothing so good since the
Christmas before, when he had crept into little
Flossie Gray's bed-room and taken a big bite of
the candy cane old St. Nicholas had left in her
stocking. Then they found a dish of strawberry
ice cream, which someone had left. They had
never tasted ice cream before, and at first they were
afraid to touch it, but when they once got a taste,
they all voted it very nice.
It w^as all over at last, for even the best of
things must end, and as Lady Nibble bade her
guests good-night she felt satisfied that this had
been the great success of her life.
The Adventure of the Mice.
Things had reached a point where something
must be done, so thought and so said the four gray
mice that had met together to talk over their woes.
These four mice had spent their lives in perfect
comfort and happiness under the high back steps.
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? The Adventure of the Mice.
233
and they knew thai- no four mice were quite as
happy as they. But what a change had come
into their lives ! The house had been sold, and
these new people made the lives of these four
little mice most miserable. No such thing as a
trap had ever bothered them -- but now it was al-
most impossible to enter a cupboard or to climb up
on a shelf without one of these cruel traps coming
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? (234)
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? The AdveDtare of the Mice. 235
to view. Of course the cheese smelt good and
looked so tempting, but these sly little chaps had
learned the danger of traps, and though they
wished and sighed for the good things, they did
not venture near these strong wire enemies. But
worse than traps came into their lives. These
they could keep away from, but a foe, big and
powerful, had been brought to capture them. It
was a large, sharp-eyed, shiney black cat. He
never seemed to sleep, for try when they might to
creep silently into the house his quick ears heard
them, and his big round eyes looked eagerly around.
These four little mice were growing as thin as
shadovrs, for they dared not venture from their step
home to get even a morsel of food. At last they
met in council, and then it was decided that some-
thing must be done. After much talking they
concluded that puss must be killed and that they
must do it. So armed with weapons and a good
strong rope they started on their mission. You
can't guess how brave they felt nor how sure of
their success. But what a difference came when
they started into the house. There stood the cat.
Then they forgot to be brave and off they scamp-
ered, as fast as possible, never stopping to look
behind.
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? Grandmother Mouse's Tale.
Grandmother Mouse had invited her two
oldest grand-daughters to tea. They were very
nice h'ttle mice and great favorites with the old
lady, and as they also were very fond of their
grandmother, it was a pleasure for them to go.
They put on their very best clothes and took lots
of care in getting ready, for their grandmother was
most particular. When they reached the Louse
there she stood on the top one of the back kit^ohen
steps, wearing her ruffled cap and her snowy v/hite
apron, and ready with a hearty welcome for both
of them.
Grandmother Mouse lived all by herself in the
cupboard under the kitchen stairs. This had been
her home all her life, and as they sat around the
tea table that evening she told them the story of
how this became her home.
" Mother," said she, ^* went off one day to hunt
for a bit of cheese or some nice fresh crackers and
told me to stay where I was until she came back.
I shut my eyes thinking I would take a nap while
she was gone, for the time always seemed so dreary
when mother was away -- and I must have taken
a good long nap, for it was dark when I opened
ray eyes, but mother was not there, though I called
r236J
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? Grandmother Mouse's Tale. 237
and called her. All that night she did not come,
and when the next day passed and again she di4
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? 238 Grandmother Mouse's Tale.
not come, I knew something had happened to her
-- but whether tlie old cat had pounced upon her
or whether she yielded to temptation in the form
of a piece of cheese and so ended her life in a
wicked trap, I never found out. " Here Grand-
mother stopped to wipe her eyes, for though it was
a long time ago, she could not tell the story with-
out weeping.
"Well," continued she, "I had grown very
hungry by this time, so I stole quietly out to find
something to eat. How strange I felt all alone in
this new world. I seemed to be growing tinier
every minute or else the great big cellar was grow-
ing bigger. Cook had made some lovely rusks
and had put them in the cellar to cool. This was
very kind in cook, I thought, and I ate all the
sugar off the top of one and then began to nibble
at the crust. But just then I heard footsteps, and
oh my! how fast I scampered away. It was
cook after the rusks, and I heard her mutter as
she went up the stairs, "Mistress must certainly
get a trap ; the mice have been at work again. "
I trembled so that I was afraid cook would hear
me, and the vision of that trap made me so un-
happy that I could not sleep one wink. Then
and there I made up my mind that nothing, noth-
ing would ever tempt me to go near a trap, not
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? Grandmother Mouse's Tale. 239
the ricthest piece of cheese, not the daintiest morsel
of cake. I thought of the cake and cheese, my
dears," said the mouse, smiling, "because they
were the two things I particularly loved, and I
must own that I have not lost my fondness for
them, if I am old and a grandmother.
" Day after day went by, and I was getting
thin, for the vision of the trap had not left my
mind, and I was afraid to venture out for food.
But time is a great healer, you know, so at last I
became quite brave and visited the pantry shelf
nightly.
" By and by I married your grandfather. Hia
home Avas in one corner of the garret back of the
camphor chest. I spent two nights there, but I
was so homesick that your grandfather said he did
not mind where he lived, and the cupboard under
the stairs was quite good enough for him. So the
next day back we came, and a happier mouse than
I never lived.
'"' Your mother was born here and your grand-
father died here. The world is very hard upon
mice, my children, and is forever laying snares for
them to fall into, and in an unlucky moment your
grandfather ate of a piece of meat on which poison
had been spread. He only lived a little while,
and once more I was left alone, for your mother
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? 240 The Candle Feast.
married and had gone to live in the next door
kitchen. So now," finished grandmother, "you
see this has always been my home, and I hope it
always will be. But I think it is getting late now
and that you had better be going -- but come soon
again, for jou know I am always glad to see you.
The Candle Feast.
There was once a little gray mouse who was
no larger or older than the other mice, but who
was always so bright and clever and so full of all
sorts of plans and schemes that the other mice had
gotten into the habit of going to her in all their
troubles, and she was always ready and pleased to
put her little wits to work and to help them the
very best she knew how.
And she was such a brave little mouse, too.
No matter how bold or how daring the scheme she
might suggest, she was always ready to do her
part in the undertaking.
Now Miss Mousy had
been prowling around in the kitchen one morning
and had seen the cook busily at work making pies
and tarts, and, last of all, brown, spicy ginger
snaps. If there was one thing in this world that
Miss Mousey dearly loved it was ginger snaps.
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? The Candle Feast.
241
It quite made her mouth water to even think about
them, and she made up her mind that when the
house was hushed for the night, and all had gone
to bed, she and her jolly young friends would visit
the kitchen shelf. Well, Miss Mousey knew the
big yellow bowl in which the snaps were kept.
The other mice were highly pleased
with Miss Mousey's plan and glad
to join her, so just as the big hall
clock struck eleven times, Miss
Mousey and her little band all
carefully masked entered the kitchen quietly and
carefully. Bat the bitterest disappointment awaited
them ; high on the shelf stood the ginger snaps,
but not in the yellow bowl. A strong tin box now
held them and the lid was shut down tight. There
they all stood, a sad and disappointed group, their
prize so near and yet beyond their reach. But
16
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? 242
The Candle Feast.
Miss Mousey was not going to spend her time in
frettinor, her little bright eyes glanced sharply
around the kitchen to find something else to satisfy
the hunger of herself and her sorrowful-looking
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? The Candle Feast. 243
friends. She had almost given up in despair, when
the glow from the fire fell on the table, and there
stood a tall white candle. It was only the work
of a minute to call the others, and then all fell to
planning a way to carry off their prize. Finally,
after much palling and tugging, the candle was
taken from the holder, and then all went to work
with a will to mount it on their shoulders and
bear it away to some undisturbed corner. It was
a funny sight to see them travelling along with
their queer burden, but they did not mind, and
were only anxious to get back to their home before
they were discovered. At last they reached the
cellar safe and sound, and then the fun began.
There they stood, one against the other on either
side of the candle, and nibbled away until not a
thing but the string remained. At first they did
not like the taste of candle very much, but when
they had finished, they one and all decided that it
was not the worst fare in the world after all, and
some of them concluded that they really liked the
candle much better than they did the ginger snaps.
At any rate, they felt repaid for their trouble and
decided that some night they would all go again
to the kitchen and get another candle.
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? The Mouse's Easter Egg.
It was spring, and it was Easter time. The
mice knew it was Easter because one of them while
rummaging in the kitchen cupboard for a nibble
of something liad overheard the cook giving the
order to the grocer's boy. Miss Mousey had heard
her say -- " I want a great many eggs, for I have
promised to dye some for the children, and besides
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? The Mouse^s Easter Egg. 245
Easter is not Easter without plenty of eggs. "
The grocer's boy seemed to be of the same opinion,
and cook laughed merrily when he told her how
many he could eat.
Now Miss Mousey made up her mind that if
cook and the grocer's boy found eggs such fine
food, she must certainly try to have one for her
breakfast on Easter day.
Such a commotion as reigned in the kitchen on
Saturday morning ! Of course the children had
no school, and they all wanted to help cook. You
should have heard the bursts of gleeful laughter
as the blue and crimson, green, purple and yellow
eggs were put on a platter to cool. Miss Mousey
saw and heard it all as she sat peeping through a
crack in the cupboard door that morning. "If
they will only leave them on the platter until to-
morrow," thought Miss Mousey, "I can easily
help myself, and I know the children will not
mind letting me have just one. " Fortune was
good to this little gray lady, and when cook fixed
the fire for the night and turned out the gas, the
eggs still stood on the plate. Now Miss Mousey
knew that her two young brothers would like to
try the eggs just as well as she, so she asked them
to come with her, and armed with knife, fork and
spoon they started on their journey.
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? 246
The Mouse's Easter Egg.
It was easy enough to reach the egg, but not
quite so easy to take it home. It was so round
and so smooth that, try as they might, not one
could manage it. At last Miss IMousey jumped
for joy -- she had hit on a splendid plan. It was
the easiest thing in the world to manage. She
would lie down flat on her back, hold the egg with
her four little feet, and then her two strong brothers
could pull her along by her tail. To think was to
act this time and before many minutes the egg was
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? The Monkeys^ Trick. 247
landed in a safe hiding-place to stay until morning.
Then what a feast they had and how proud the
brothers were to think that all had been so well
managed by their gray sister.
The Monkeys' Trick.
Jocko and Jerry were two iiv^ely, long-tailed
monkeys that lived with their father and mother
in the sunny, Southern lands. They were the
most mischievous little fellows you could well im-
agine, and their poor mother punished and scolded
them all the time, but all in vain ; hardly a day
passed that Jocko or Jerry did not get into some
kind of trouble.
It was great fun to watch them skipping from
tree to tree in search of the large, yellow bananas
that grew in great quantities near their home, or
climbing after the cocoanuts they so dearly lovea,
and which furnished many a dainty meal for the
hungry youngsters.
Jocko and Jerry seemed never to be still. If
they wTre not jumping from limb to limb of the
tall forest trees they were swinging from the
branches by their tails, which they twisted securely
around the limbs, or else they were cutting up
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? 248
The Monkeys' Trick.
some other kind of caper. When night came they
needed no rocking, for so tired were they that they
hardly had time to settle themselves for the night
before they were in dreamland.
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? The Monkeys' Trick. 249
Brown Bruin was a solemn, dignified bear that
dwelt in the forest where the monkey family lived.
He had grown so fat in his old age that his greatest
pleasure was to take things easy. Hurrying and
scurrying were not to his liking, and the merry,
chattering ways of Jocko and Jerry bothered him
no little. He had many times talked to them, and
tried to show them how much better it was to live
a quiet, peaceful life. The little monkeys listened
to all he said, and they seemed so solemn that
Brown Bruin felt sure his words had not been in
vain ; but time showed him his mistake.
Old Bruin had among his possessions a beauti-
ful red hammock that he prized very highly, not
only for itself, but for the many happy hours he
had spent in it. He swung it up one morning as
usual, and, placing his high hat on the ground be-
neath, crawled into the hammock to read his morn-
ing paper and take a little nap. Jocko and Jerry
watched the bear preparing to spend a comfortable
morning and decided to play a trick on him. So
they sat very quietly, hidden among the leaves,
until Bruin was lost in the reading of his paper.
Poor fellow ! He was so deeply engaged in reading
the report of the stock market and wondering
whether he would not be able to indulge in a little
veal, mutton and pork, now they were going so
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? 250 The Monkeys' Trick.
low, that he had not noticed that the monkeys were
near. They stole down, and Jocko witli his sharp
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? The Magpie's Revenge. 251
little knife cut the rope, and down went Mr. Bruin
all in a heap. How these merry little monkeys did
chatter and laugh when they saw the old fellow on
the ground, but they had good sense enough to run
away as fast as they could go, for they knew, if
they were caught, they would get a good scolding,
and they should have a good hard scolding, for
they were very naughty monkeys, indeed, to dis-
turb the poor bear in his hammock.
Poor Bruin did not know what to make of it
when he found himself suddenly landed on his
head on the hard ground, but he soon made up his
mind that it was all a trick which mischievous
Jocko and Jerry had played on him, and he felt
very badly to think that his fine silk hat was ruined
and his hammock injured just through the work
of frolicsome monkeys, and he decided that he
would find some other place to spend his leisure,
where he would not be troubled by such naughty
little creatures as Jocko and Jerry.
THe Magpie's Revenge.
It was all due to the treatment which Madame
Magpie had received at the time of the great ball
in the early spring. Invitations had been sent
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? 252 The Magpie's Revenge.
far and near, and she had been slighted. "Why,
she could not guess -- not because she had been for-
gotten, she was sure of that, for had she not whis-
pered to all the birds in the forest that she was
most anxious to attend this wonderful dance. The
Ostrich was one of the committee, and she knew
she had told him of her wish. At last the truth
slipped out -- one and all thought she talked too
much. Madame Magpie felt very badly about it,
but she decided to keep perfectly quiet, make no
fuss, and see if a time would not come when she
might punish these folks who called themselves
her friends. The days of spring passed by, and
one by one the summer months came creeping on,
and still Madame Magpie could think of no plan
that just exactly pleased her. At last she hit upon
something that suited her perfectly.
Her first movement was to provide herself with
writing material. She needed no pen, for her own
wing served that purpose. Then she proceeded to
write a host of invitations. It kept her busy for
several days, but at last all was finished and each
sent to the proper person.
You see, Madame Magpie had decided to give
a feast, and she had also decided to let these folks
who thought she talked too much see how much
she really could talk.
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? The Magpie's Revenge.
253
At last the day and hour arrived, and the guests
came in crowds. The little hostess had spared no
pains in securing all sorts of good things, and
when all were come, and had taken their places,
and were ready to enjoy the feast, the Madame's
fun began. She commenced chattering at such a
lively rate that the guests were almost distracted.
She rattled on and on, and on, her voice growing
louder and shriller every minute, until one by one
the animals rushed away almost deafened by tne
Magpie s shrieks. Not one was brave enough to
stay, and although the Magpie's throat was raw,
she felt she was revenged.
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