1 82 THE SWAN AND HER CREW. 



the corn quite happy and contented. Suddenly he called 

 out 



" Come and look at this nest in the corn-stalks ! It can't 

 be a bird's. What is it?" 



Frank and Jimmy went through the gap and examined it. 



" It is the nest of a harvest mouse," said Frank, "and there 

 are half a dozen naked little mice inside." 



The harvest mouse is the smallest of British animals. Un- 

 like its relatives, it builds its nest in the stalks of grass or corn 

 at a little distance from the ground. The nest is globular in 

 shape, made of woven grass, and has a small entrance like that 

 of a wren's. 



" And here is a mole-trap," said Jimmy, " with a mole in it. 

 What smooth glossy fur it has ! It will set whichever way you 

 rub it." 



" Yes ; and don't you see the use of that. It can run back- 

 wards or forwards along its narrow burrows with the greatest 

 ease. It could not do that if the fur had a right and a wrong 

 way." 



" Can it see ? " asked Jimmy, pointing to the tiny black 

 specks which represented its eyes. 



" Oh yes. Not very well, I dare say ; but well enough for its 

 own purposes. It can run along its passages at a great speed, 

 as people have found out by putting straws at intervals along 

 them, and then startling the mole at one end and watching the 

 straws as they were thrown down." 



During the autumn and winter the mole resides in a fortress, 

 often at short distances from the burrow where it nests. This 



