A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



her own hasty efforts. The one thing to do 

 is to remove her babies to a place far away 

 from the death-dealing heat. If the young 

 mice are small, in some mysterious way the 

 mother-mouse induces each youngster to cling 

 to a teat, when the whole family is removed 

 in this novel manner to a safe retreat beneath 

 the cabin. It is a comical sight to see the 

 old mouse crawling along a log with eight 

 or ten raw, shapeless things clinging to her 

 like grim death. The hole in the ivall that 

 leads outside is small, and the old mouse has 

 a long struggle to get her load safely through. 

 Now and then a young mouse drops off and 

 remains squirming where it chances to fall. 

 The mother invariably returns and gathers 

 in the missing. 



When the young mice are half -grown, they 

 are removed in a different manner. They are 

 now too large to be dragged as before. They 

 are also too large to be carried by the neck. 

 The mother overcomes this difficulty by doub- 

 ling up the young mouse and then grasping 

 it by the crossed legs. The young mouse 

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