of rags, from which they could get threads to line them.

They had one trouble, for in the same house was a cat, -"A very wicked cat too," they said.

One night they had a meeting, where they talked about their trouble.

They all said, "Something must be done." There were Black-eye, Brown-back, Graypaw, and ever so many more.

"We are not safe anywhere," said Graypaw. "If I go to the pantry to nibble the cheese or to get a few crumbs of bread, the cat is sure to come too. She watches

every hole that we make. If we gnaw the wood, she hears it.

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Really, I am afraid to do anything, or go anywhere, because of that wicked cat." "What can we do?" asked little Blackeye. "Shall we make strange noises and frighten her away? Or, shall we all jump at her and bite her, so she will be glad to let us alone?"

"Oh, no!" said Gray-paw; "she is so large and bold that we can neither frighten nor hurt her. But I have thought of something which will let us know when she is near. If we can put a bell on her neck, it will ring if she moves. When the bell rings, we shall hear it, and know just where she is. Then she cannot get her paws on our backs."

"That is

"Oh, yes!" cried all at once. just what we will do. We will bell the cat! Hurra! the mice will bell the cat."

Brown-back, a very thoughtful little mouse, said, "I think that is a very fine thing to do, but who will put the bell on

I can't, for I have so much

her neck? I can't,

to do."

Gray-paw said that he could not, because his foot was sore.

"Black-eye, will you bell the cat?" asked Brown-back.

"Really, I should like to try it, Brownback, but my eyes are weak. I can not see well to-day."

At last Brown-back said, "Is there a mouse here that will try?"

All was still; not a word was spoken. By and by Brown-back said, "What shall we do? No one seems willing to hang the bell on the cat's neck."

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Go home to our nests," cried all," and just keep out of the way of that wicked cat."

13. THE FIELD MOUSE.

The little mice which you see in this picture do not live in your house.

They stay in the fields, and build their This is why they are called

own houses.

field mice.

Their slender bodies, covered with fine, soft fur, their pointed heads, and long, naked tails make them look like the comThen they have the chisel

mon mouse.

shaped teeth for gnawing, and sharp claws for climbing. But they are not nearly so large as the house mouse. Their pretty fur coats are not gray, but brown and white.

Did you ever see the nest of a field mouse? Here is the picture of one. It is a beautiful nest made of narrow grasses and lined with thistle-down. It is woven so carefully that it makes a hollow ball, no larger than a croquet ball and almost as round. There is no door or opening in the nest. How do you suppose Mr. and Mrs. Mouse go out and in a house which has no doors?

This is the summer house.

The winter home is made under the ground. There are two or three rooms in this house. The largest room is used for a bedroom, in which soft beds are made of dry grass.

The food is stored in one of the rooms. Field mice eat grain, nuts, and insects. They are very fond of cherry-stones. During the cold weather field mice sleep