_THE MOUSE AND ITS WAYS._
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1. Here are some of our near neighbors, little fellows in fur, who are
so very friendly that they visit us by night and by day, and seem as
much at home in our house as we are.
2. When, in the night, we hear tiny feet as they patter over the
floor, or scamper across the pillow, or we find in the morning that
the loaf for breakfast has been gnawed and spoiled, we are not apt to
feel friendly toward the mouse.
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3. But, as he stands here by the trap, let us take a good look at him.
We find that he has a coat of fine fur, which he always keeps clean,
and a long tail that has no hair. He has whiskers like the cat; sharp
claws, so that he can run up the side of a house, or climb anything
that is a little rough; and eyes that can see in the night.
4. He has large ears, so that he can hear the faintest sound; and
short legs, so that he can creep into the smallest hole.
5. His nose is pointed, and his under jaw is shorter than the upper
one. In front, on each jaw, he has two sharp teeth, shaped like the
edge of a chisel, and these he uses to gnaw with.
6. These teeth are growing all the while; and if he does not gnaw
something hard nearly every day, so as to wear them off, they will
soon become so long that he can not use them.