WILD MICE. 79 
gathering of his food, and the building of his house, costs 
him ‘mony a weary nibble,” and he must constantly be on 
the alert, for dangers haunt him on every side. One of his 
enemies is the snake, all the larger sorts of which pounce 
upon him in the grass, lie in wait for him in his highway, 
or steal into his burrow and seize his helpless young, in 
spite of the frantic fighting of the father, and the stout 
attempts of the mother to drag her little ones away into 
safety. A gentleman in L[llinois once saw a garter-snake 
pass rapidly by with a young meadow-mouse in its mouth. 
Presently an old meadow-mouse came ont of the tall grass 
in pursuit of the snake, which she finally overtook and in- 
stantly attacked. The snake stopped, disgorged its prey, 
and defended itself by striking at its assailant, which ap- 
peared to be beating it, when both animals were killed by 
the gentleman watching. Iam sorry the incident ended so 
tragically. The courage and affection of the little mother 
deserved a better reward, and even the garter-snake was en- 
titled to some sympathy. 
Probably our snakes depend more upon catching mice 
than upon any other resource for their daily food, and they 
hunt for them incessantly. Most of the mice have the bad 
habit of being abroad mainly at night; so have the snakes; 
and the mice thus encounter more foes, and fall an easier 
