WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



small tree, where it sprang from twig to twig 

 with the ease and certainty of a creature that 

 had no fear of falling. All the same I did 

 once see an accident. There was a small round 

 nest of honeysuckle fibre and nut leaves in a 

 bramble bush which had evidently been built 

 by a dormouse. Thinking the dormouse might 

 be at home I poked the nest to make sure, 

 when out shot a long-tailed field mouse ; it 

 was in such a hurry that it missed its footing, 

 slipped from the prickly briar stem, but was 

 brought up short by a thorn catching its tail. 

 For a second it hung hitched up by the skin of 

 its tail, then with a wriggle and kick got free 

 and vanished from sight. 



This mouse is very fond of taking possession 

 of a ready-made and furnished nest, whether 

 a dormouse's, or one of those domed nests 

 made by the chiff-chaff and wood wren. In- 

 deed in the autumn you will find more dor- 

 mouse nests with long-tailed mice living in 

 them than you will find occupied by dormice. 

 I shall long remember the first time that I 

 found a long-tailed mouse in a dormouse nest, 

 for, seeing the small neat round nest in a bush, 

 I poked my finger in to see what was inside, 

 only to pull it back in a hurry, something which 

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