In high spirits Dickie Deer Mouse hurried on through the woods until he
came to the big beech tree. And though many others had been there before
him, since the nuts had ripened, Dickie had such a sharp eye for a beech
nut that even though it was then night, he soon found enough for a
hearty meal.
Then he had to have a romp with a few gay fellows whom he met under the
beech tree. And so quickly did the time pass that before he knew it the
night had turned gray. Day was breaking. And shouting good-bye to his
friends Dickie Deer Mouse ran off towards Farmer Green's pasture. He
wanted a nap. And having nothing in his summer home that was worth
moving, he knew of no reason why he shouldn't begin at once to live in
his new quarters.
He never felt happier than he did as he scampered in and out among the
trees, slipped under the rail fence, and streaked across the short grass
of the pasture. But when he reached his doorway he stopped in dismay.
Where he had expected to see nobody at all, his eyes bulged with
surprise at the crowd that had gathered in his dooryard.
As soon as he had taken several good looks at the company, Dickie Deer
Mouse discovered that they were distant relations of his, of all ages
and sizes. And at last he succeeded in sorting them into families.
There were three big families. And no one in the whole crowd paid any
heed to Dickie Deer Mouse. They seemed to be talking about something
most important, and too busy to notice the newcomer.
If the truth were known, the sight of his second and third and fourth
cousins did not particularly please Dickie Deer Mouse. But he was an
agreeable young gentleman. So he stepped forward and called several of
his cousins by name. And since he couldn't say honestly that he was
delighted to see them, he told them how well they looked and said that
he hoped they had passed a happy summer.
"Here he is at last!" everybody cried. "We've been waiting for you for a
long time, because we weren't sure whether we'd found the right place."
"What place?" Dickie Deer Mouse asked them as he looked from one to
another in dismay.
"Why, the great house that you've found!" somebody cried. "We've heard
that it has a front hall a hundred times as long as Fatty Coon's tail.
So of course there must be lots of rooms in it; and we've come to keep
you company and spend the winter."
When he heard that news Dickie Deer Mouse became almost faint. He did
not want to hurt his cousins' feelings. But his plan of spending the
winter quietly hardly made him welcome the idea of having a dozen
half-grown children in his home.
"Who told you about my house?" he demanded with just a trace of
disappointment.
"It was Fatty Coon," several of his cousins explained at once.
And then Dickie Deer Mouse knew that he had made a mistake when he told
Fatty of his good fortune.
"I'm sorry to say that he has misled you," Dickie informed his
relations. "It's true that my front hall is very long. But the trouble
is, there's only one chamber."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]