"THIS means another move for me," said Master Meadow Mouse. Fatty Coon
had broken into the house in the shock of corn where Master Meadow Mouse
had been living. And Master Meadow Mouse had fled.
Somehow he felt that a change of scene would be good for him. Although
he had dwelt but a short time in the cornfield, he had no longer any
desire to stay there. For Fatty Coon had given him a great fright. There
was no denying that.
"It seems as if I were always moving," Master Meadow Mouse mused. "It's
lucky for me the world is wide. Thank goodness there's plenty of places
left where I can go. I've tried the meadow, Farmer Green's woodpile, the
tangle beside the pasture fence and the cornfield. And now--now let me
see! I believe I'll settle along Black Creek, under the bank."
He was talking with Long Bill Wren, who had a nest in a marshy spot near
the creek.
"Oh, don't make yourself a home under the bank!" Long Bill cried. "The
fall rains will come soon. The creek is sure to rise. And then where
will you be?"
"I'll be in the water, I suppose," Master Meadow Mouse answered.
"Correct!" said Long Bill Wren. "And you want to avoid that. Maybe
you've noticed that my wife and I built our nest off the ground. We
fasten it to the reeds so we'll be dry, no matter if there's a freshet
in midsummer."
"Ah!" Master Meadow Mouse exclaimed with a smile. "I see you don't like
water as much as I do. The fall rains won't trouble me. If the creek
rises as high as my house it will be all the more fun."
Long Bill Wren gave him an odd look.
"You're a queer one," he remarked. "Anyhow, you can't say I didn't warn
you. If there's a flood when the fall rains come, and you get drowned
out, you can't say it's my fault."
"Certainly not!" cried Master Meadow Mouse. "And I thank you for your
kind advice. But I'm not going to be drowned out. I can swim."
Long Bill Wren shook his head.
"I hope you'll escape," he said. "I shall not be here to know whether
you do or not. For we're starting for the South to-morrow. But I hope
to find you safe and sound next May, when I return." And then he went
home, to tell his wife that Master Meadow Mouse was a very daring young
fellow.
Master Meadow Mouse built himself a house under the bank of Black Creek.
And later the rain fell heavily for several days and nights, just as
Long Bill Wren had expected. The creek rose fast. Yet Master Meadow
Mouse didn't worry. When the water lapped at his doorway he only
laughed. And when it caught at his house and bore it downstream Master
Meadow Mouse held his fat sides and roared.
The flood brought much rubbish with it. But Master Meadow Mouse saw
nothing that took his fancy until at last a floating board caught his
eye.
Master Meadow Mouse swam out to it and scrambled upon it.
"Hurrah!" he squeaked as the board carried him along with the current.
"This is fine! I've got a raft. And I'll go a-traveling."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
16