ANTIQUITY OF THE FANCY MOUSE 



15 



The Orient. Although until recently the house mouse has 

 been openly despised by Christian teachers, in the Orient, 

 on the contrary, it has always enjoyed a much higher social 

 rating. 



Albino mice were used by the Chinese priests for auguries 

 and during many centuries the government preserved records 

 of their taking in the wild. These records cover the period 



Fig. 4. The Japanese God of Wealth, Dal-koku, and his symbolic white mouse. 

 (After a print in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.) 



between a.d. 307 and a. d. 1641. During this time the finding 

 of about thirty albino mice was recorded by the magistrates. 



From Turkestan to Japan, years are reckoned in cycles of 

 twelve, the first year of each cycle being named the "Mouse." 



In Japan the mouse of the folk-sagas is a very wise creature 

 and the symbol and messenger of the God of ^Yealth, Da'i- 

 koku (see Fig. 4). The god is usually represented as stand- 

 ing upon two sacks of rice with a mouse perched at his feet. 

 The time between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. is known as the hour of 

 the mouse. A children's story describes the wedding of the 



