THE RATS LEAVE THE BIG BARN
There’s nothing quite like fear to spread
And wrap the whole Great World in dread.
_Billy Mink._
Billy Mink’s second visit to the big barn had been an occasion of great
pleasure to Billy and terror to all the Rats who lived there. He had
hunted them just for the pleasure of hearing their squeals of fright and
the scampering of their feet, as they raced this way and that way,
seeking safety. With his wonderful nose he had followed them to their
most secret hiding-places. Three he had caught, and he could have caught
more had he really wanted to.
When he had become tired of the hunt, Billy had curled up for a nap in a
corner of the haymow where it was dark and quiet. He had done this
instead of going back to the woodpile. It was very comfortable there.
Besides, it would be very handy to be right there when he felt like
hunting again.
It wasn’t long before all the Rats knew just where Billy was. One of
them had happened to pass near enough to smell Billy and had at once
passed the word along to all the others.
“Now is the time,” said the wise old leader, “for us to get together and
attack him. Who will join with me?”
Not a single Rat came forward. The gray old leader shook his head sadly.
“You are cowards, all of you,” said he. “If you will not fight, there is
just one thing left for us to do.”
“What is that?” squeaked one of the young Rats who had been loudest in
his boasting before Billy Mink had appeared the second time.
“We’ve got to leave this barn,” replied the gray old leader. “If we
remain here, it will be to die. That Mink will stay here, or if he
doesn’t, he will keep coming back until he has hunted down and killed
every Rat. We must leave the barn and do it at once. There is no time to
be lost. Probably he is asleep now. By the time he awakes, we must be
out of this barn. The Rat who doesn’t leave it now never will leave it.”
Immediately there was a great discussion. Every Rat there knew that the
wise old leader was right. But where should they go? It was winter, and
they could not live long out of doors. They must go to a place where
they would find both shelter and food. They might as well remain to be
killed by Billy Mink as to go forth and starve or freeze to death. At
least that is what some of them said. Some suggested one thing and some
another. Finally they turned to the gray old leader for his advice. They
had followed him so long that they had learned to trust to his wisdom.
[Illustration: The rats leave the big barn.]