A Tough Story Of A Tough Mouse

In the fall of 1879, 1 had occasion to recover some pump logs that convey water toniy liouse from a spring half a raile distant, part of the distance through the woods. ïhe late fall rains had washed the logs bare in places, and not daring to trust them through the winter I took two men and set to work to cover the exposed places; although the ground was frozen to the depth of six incies, as the rain had been followcd by a cold snap. Near the head of the spring in the woods was a place where dirt had been dug out of the bank and wal] of earth three feet high, with roots and moss overhanging the edge had been left, forming a perfect proteetion from rain or snow. In digging in this bank I unearthed a ball of leaves about the size of a quart bowl and as compact as dry leaves could be made. In examining the place it appearedthat an excavation liad been made about a foot from the surface of the ground and four inches from the face of the bank, and had been packed with beech leaves, put on in layers from the outside toward the centre. As the ball of leaves rolled out, I picked it up and began to examine it closely, concluding, oí course that it was a niouse nest; but as I could tind no hole for ingress or egress in its smooth surface, my curiosity was much exeited. I bègan to take off layer after layer of the leaves until I carne near the centre, where I found a bunch of fur about the size and shape of a hen:s ogg, which, upon close scrutiny, proved to be a mouse, apparently dead and frozen stilt'. I made a jocular remark about the poor fellow's taking so much pains to make himself a good comfortable place to freeze to death in, and laid the nest on a log until dinner-time, intending to take it to the house. On my way to the house I found mousie had begun to limber up a little, and succeededby careful manipulation in straightenino; out his legs and tail, so that I13 looked a good deal more like a mouse than the little wad of fur that I picked out of the leaves. On reaehing the house I gave the mouse to my little girl, who was elated, and began to fondle and pit y the animal for having to stay out in the cold until it was frozen to deatk. So she rattled on until we wen; neariy through dinner, when suddenly she sprang up, exclaiming: "Oh, papa, it's alive. It breathes, and it has oponed its eyes." Sure'enough, mousie was breathing slowly, and blinking like a veritable Rip Van Wmkle, after his famous nap. I placed it on the iloor, and by the time we were through dinner it was hopping around as lively as a cricket, although it acted a little groggy at first. But soon all drowsiness had one, and jtou would have thought by fts bright eyes and agile motions that it had always been awake and jumping. I made a nice little oage for it, and fed it plenty of beechnuts, and it was a great pet, but I could not resist lic temptation to experiment with it. So every few nights I would put it out of doors, and in the morning it would be as hard as a butternut, bul upon thawing out it would be as active as ever. One night I left the mouse out the thermometer iiiarked 30 below zero in the morning, and yet little mousie "carne in" all right. I rroze him eight or ten times in the course of the winter, and he came arouud each time and kept fat and sleek, but along toward spring he lost his appetite, grew poor, and iinally died :ui apparently natural dealh. The ruouse was of the jumping, or deer-mouse species. His body was three and a half inches and his tail three and three-quartcrs Inohea long, of a reddish eolor on baek and sides, and nearly white underneath. II' could easily clear four or live fcet at a leap, and never walked but always went with a hop and a skip. Many iusects freeze up in the winter and thaw out in the spring, and go on thoir way rejoicing, but I was not ftware before that any animal of the size of a niousrilid it but that seems to bc the tact. 1 - ♦ ïhere are none solow but what they have their triumphs. Small successes for small souls. The flrat lucifer match was made in .1798.