CHAPTER I

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ONCE upon a time there lived in a farm-yard, at the bottom of a corn-stack, a family of mice, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, and seven baby mice. As yet the babies were quite pink, just like little pigs, but they kept growing and growing, and turning darker and darker, until at last they were quite the family colour, and nearly as big as their parents. Well, one day Papa Mouse said to Mamma Mouse—

"My dear, it will soon be time for our children to get their own living. I think I had better hear what their wishes for the future are, and give them some advice." So he called his children round him, and thus began—

"Sons and daughters, your mother and I think you should begin to work for yourselves, and I should like to hear if you have formed any plans before I proceed to give you my advice. Hop and Pop, as you are the two eldest sons, speak first."

Then up started Hop and Pop, and said promptly—

"Father, we have talked this matter over, and we have both decided to go into the Church!"

"My sons," said their father, "I am sorry to hear it, as Church mice are proverbially poor. I should strongly advise you all to stick to farming, especially the corn-growing branch of it. With good management mice can live comfortably, and bring up large families, if they will only be content with their station; but mice that aspire to the Church always end in being starved."

Then the rest of the family spoke, and expressed themselves quite ready to follow their father's advice, but Hop and Pop were bent on having their own way, so in a short time they said "good-bye" to their loving parents, and kissed their brothers and sisters, and went away to begin the battle of life for themselves.

They started for a beautiful old Church that stood near, and when they reached it the bells were ringing, and people going in at the door, and amongst them a lady holding a little girl by the hand, who instantly caught sight of the brothers, and screamed, "Look, mammy—'two mouses!'"

Hop and Pop were so terrified that they immediately hid themselves in the grass, so that the little girl's mother did not see them. There they stayed, trembling, until all the people had come out of Church again, and they saw the Rector and his sister go away, and last of all, the clerk lock the door, carrying the keys with him. Then they began to breathe more freely.

"Now Hop," said Pop, "we must begin to get our own living, so come along."

So away they went, and managed to squeeze under the bottom of the big door, and then ran into the middle aisle, and looked round.

"Oh my!" said Hop, "won't we have fun though? This is a great deal better than a farm-yard."

And then they played hide and seek amongst the basses, and in and out the pews, and scampered up and down the aisles until at last they were quite tired out, and sadly in want of their supper besides.

"Now," said Pop, "it is time we found something to eat; there must be a good larder somewhere, as so many people come to Church; so you go and look for it one way, and I will go another."

Pop ran as far as the east window, but Hop only got as far as the pulpit, which he mounted, and there he found "food for reflection," but it was some little time before he found food for his supper; but at last, as he kept getting higher and higher, he alighted on the top of one of the candlesticks, so he sat up, and began to nibble away at the candle until he had made quite a good meal; but just as he had finished, and was thinking of calling his brother to share his feast, he heard a jingling of keys, and then two people came into the Church, but as it was now "pitchy" dark, he could only cling to the candlestick, trembling and quaking.

Presently a match was struck, and then Hop saw from his eminence that the intruders were the Rector and his boy George, and also saw, with terror, that they were making for the pulpit! So down he came in a jiffy, and hid himself in the first place that came handy, and that happened to be the harmonium, which stood under the pulpit, and there he lay panting behind the pedals, thinking—

"I'm quite safe here until they are gone again"—but, horror of horrors! instead of the Rector going up into the pulpit he came straight to the harmonium, and took hold of one end, and George the other, and the poor little mouse found himself being carried out of the Church, out into the churchyard, out into the road, then into the rectory garden, then into the rectory, and finally deposited in the hall, and there the Rector and George left it for a short time.

"Now," thought Hop, "now's my time to run;" so run he did, but, unluckily, just as George was returning, who caught sight of him before he could hide himself. George made a grab at him, but missed him, as he squeezed himself under the study door; but George was like a cat for a mouse, he did not mean to be beaten, so he opened the study door, and on a low chair near the fire sat the Rector's sister, Peggy, who looked round to see who had come in, and George began excitedly—

"If you please'm, there's a mouse just come into the room'm—"

"Oh, George, you don't say so! 'Where' is it?" And she instantly got up and jumped on to the highest chair she could see, gathering her dress round her.

"Are you 'quite' sure you saw one?"

"Yes'm, I'm sure'm, and it came out of the harmonium."

Enter the Rector. "'What's' the matter now?" he said.

"Why sir, there's a mouse, sir."

Well, I'm ashamed to tell you that the Rector was almost as much afraid of a mouse as his sister was, but he put on a brave look, and screwed his courage to the sticking point, and said manfully, "'Where,' George?"

"If you please, sir, it went behind the book-shelves."

Then the housekeeper was called to help to move them, but the united efforts of the household were futile to stir them, so, for the present, Hop was safe. Then the housekeeper spoke up and said—

"'I' know what 'I' should do."

"What should 'you' do, Mrs. H—?" said the Rector and Peggy simultaneously, truth to tell glad of any suggestion.

"Why 'I' should give it some 'supper,' sir, that's what I should do." (Well, Hop heard this from behind the book-shelves, and he thought "what a nice 'kind' woman the housekeeper is"), and Peggy exclaimed—

"'Supper!' then I'm sure I dare not sit here—why it will perhaps be climbing up my dress, and I'm certain if it did, I should go into a fit."

"Oh'm," said the housekeeper, "it won't come out whilst you are here—you need not be afraid; but when you and the master go to bed, I'll mix it some 'nice' supper." And she smiled benevolently, and looked so beaming and good-looking, that if Hop could only have seen her, he would have felt quite satisfied that he had "one" friend, at a rate, on his side. But alas for appearances! The matter was left in Mrs. H—'s hands, and she left some nice-looking supper on a bit of paper on the study floor, and then they all retired to rest.

When everything was quite still, as still as any mouse could desire, and dark besides, our friend Hop began to feel less agitated, and he had already made a plan that he would first get the supper the kind housekeeper had prepared, and then he would creep into the harmonium again, and be carried back to the Church the same way as he had been carried from it. Well, very cautiously he emerged from his hiding place, meaning to have a hunt for his supper, but he found it close to the book-shelves, so without more ado, he began to eat; but hardly had he tasted it, when he turned very dizzy, and then was seized with a violent pain. Suddenly, he thought to himself, "that 'wretched' woman! I do believe she has put 'poison' in my supper! 'I'm a dead mouse;' but she shan't have the satisfaction of finding me dead!" And with that he just managed to crawl back, and in a very short time "died." And that was the end of one Church mouse.

Take advice from parents, Children great and small, Or 'sure as a gun' you'll often run Your heads against a wall.

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