New Series, January, 1906. 



371' 



There are two wild mice that you ought to know : the meadow mouse 

 that looks like a tiny bear, and the little deer mouse or white-footed 

 mouse, as it is sometimes called. Do you ever see these mice in winter? 

 What kind of tracks do they make in the snow? Do you know any 

 way in which they are useful? In which they do harm? 



THE THISTLEDOWN HOUSE 



Vaughan McCaughey 



One cloudy afternoon in October when most persons were indoors, 

 a friend and I were sitting on a mossy old rail fence, near the edge of 

 a little patch of woodland, watching the birds. The birds were as busy 



Fig. 2. — What kind of mouse is this? 



and cheerful as if it were June. Robins were feeding among the dead 

 leaves, field sparrows were twittering in the weeds, and a little wood- 

 pecker was pounding vigorously at the loose bark of a nearby stump. His 

 " rat-a-tat-tat " attracted our attention, and after he had flown away, we 

 went over to examine the stump. The bark was so loose that a great, 

 flaky fragment fell ofiF into my hand, disclosing to our astonished gaze 

 a thistledown house. 



Near the top of the stump was a small opening, so rough and jagged 

 that no one would imagine it to be the front door of a silver palace. This 

 front door opened into a little round runway, between the stump and the 

 loose bark. This hallway in turn opened into a snug little room, thickly 



