ee sisters went?"

Mrs. Meadow Mouse did not wait for her son's answer. She went off again
and left him to ponder over her question.

Master Meadow Mouse decided to mind his mother. Although he didn't know
what had become of his squirming companions, who had already begun to
crowd the nest, somehow his mother's query carried something of a
threat. He wondered if the mysterious Henry Hawk had had anything to do
with the vanishing of the rest of the children.

Master Meadow Mouse proved to be a hearty eater. And since he no longer
had to share with others the food that his mother brought home to him,
he grew fast. It wasn't long before Mrs. Meadow Mouse took him above
ground with her and let him play near home.

She taught him many things--how to find ripe seeds to eat, how to keep
still as a mouse and not squeak when there was danger of any kind, and
how to dodge into their tunnel when there was need.

Little by little Master Meadow Mouse wandered further from his own
dooryard. And he began to think that his mother was too careful. There
seemed to be no need of heeding all her warnings.

Then came the day when he met the kitten from the farmhouse.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

3

The Kitten

MASTER MEADOW MOUSE had rambled about the meadow without paying much
heed to safety. Although he still seemed to listen politely whenever his
mother gave him a lecture on dangerous birds or beasts, half the time he
didn't know what she was saying. He had decided that her fears were
foolish. He was sure that nothing could harm him.

He was thinking that very thought one day when he came face to face
suddenly with a huge, furry creature. At least the stranger seemed
terribly big in the eyes of Master Meadow Mouse, though it was only a
kitten belonging to Miss Kitty Cat, who lived at Farmer Green's house.

Like Master Meadow Mouse, the kitten was exploring the meadow. To her,
as to him, it was a new world.

It would be hard to say which of the two was the more surprised.

"Oh!" Master Meadow Mouse squeaked right out loud. "I--I--I wish I'd
stayed at home."

"Ho!" the kitten mewed. "I'm glad I came a-hunting."

The kitten sprang at Master Meadow Mouse. But when he didn't run she
stopped in her tracks and stared at him. She had expected him to flee,
as the mice at the farmhouse always did whenever a body met them.

"What's the matter with you?" the kitten asked him. "Don't you know that
you ought to run w