In a crack near the cupboard, with dainties provided,
A certain young mouse with her mother resided;
So securely they lived in that snug, quiet spot,
Any mouse in the land might have envied their lot.
But one day the young mouse, which was given to roam,
Having made an excursion some way from her home,
On a sudden returned, with such joy in her eyes,
That her grey, sedate parent expressed some surprise.
"O mother," said she, "The good folks of this house,
I'm convinced, have not any ill-will to a mouse;
And those tales can't be true you always are telling,
For they've been at such pains to construct us a dwelling.
"The floor is of wood, and the walls are of wires,
Exactly the size that one's comfort requires;
And I'm sure that we there shall have nothing to fear,
If ten cats, with kittens, at once should appear.
"And then they have made such nice holes in the wall,
One could slip in and out, with no trouble at all;
But forcing one through such rough crannies as these,
Always gives one's poor ribs a most terrible squeeze.
"But the best of all is, they've provided, as well,
A large piece of cheese, of most exquisite smell;
'T was so nice, I had put in my head to go through,
When I thought it my duty to come and fetch you."
"Ah, child," said the mother, "believe, I entreat,
Both the cage and the cheese are a terrible cheat;
Do not think all that trouble they took for our good,
They would catch us and kill us there if they could.
"Thus they've caught and killed scores, and I never could learn,
That a mouse who once entered did ever return."
Let young people mind what the old people say,
And, when danger is near them keep out of the way.
[Page 186--Mixed Animal Land]
[Illustration: Fox Reading "The Poultry Fancier's Gazette".]