WILD MICE 121 



One summer, a boy who lives in Dutchess 

 County, across the Hudson from my house, 

 caught four of these mice in a wire trap, two 

 males and two females. The boy said that when 

 he picked up the trap the two males fell dead, 

 from fright he thought. One of the females 

 died in October, but the other Hved and began 

 hibernating early in November. He took it to 

 his teacher in New York, who kept it through 

 the winter. She made a pocket for it in a 

 woolen sock, but it was not suited with it, for 

 in January it woke up and made itself a neat 

 little blanket from the wool which it nibbled 

 from the sock. In this it rolled itself and went 

 to sleep again. A week or two later I was at 

 the school, and the teacher showed me her sleep- 

 ing mouse. It was rolled up in a ball, with its 

 tail wrapped about its head. I held it in the 

 palm of my hand. It seemed almost as cold 

 as a dead mouse, and I could not see it breathe. 

 It was carefully put back in its blanket. 



Not long after this, a small house-mouse was 

 put in the box with it. " It was the tiniest 

 little mouse," says Miss Burt, "you ever saw. 

 It cuddled in with the hibernator, who got up 

 at once and took care of this baby. The baby 

 struck out independently and burrowed in the 

 sand, and stole some of the wool and feathers 



