ZERO BIRDS 35 



Near the fire Lieutenant Trottie found an old box- 

 cover bedded in the snow. As he lifted it up, there 

 was a rush and a scurry, and from a round, warm 

 nest underneath the cover, made of thistle-down, 

 fur, feathers, and tiny bits of woodfibre all matted 

 together into a sort of felt, dashed six reddish-brown, 

 pink-pawed mice. They burrowed in the snow, crept 

 under the leaves, and in a minute were out of sight, 

 all except one, which tried to climb the box-cover 

 and which Trottie caught before he could scurry 

 over the top of it. His fur was like plush, with the 

 hair a warm reddish-brown at the ends and gray at 

 the roots. Underneath he was snowy-white, although 

 there, too, the fur showed mouse-gray under the 

 surface. He had little brown claws and six tiny 

 pink disks on each paw, which enabled him to run 

 up and down perpendicular surfaces. His eyes were 

 big and brown and lustrous, and he had flappy, 

 pinky-gray, velvet ears, each one of which was half 

 the size of his funny little face and thin as gossamer. 

 His paws were pink and his long tail was covered with 

 the finest of hairs. When he found he was fairly 

 caught, he snuggled down into Trottie's hand, 

 making a queer little whimpering noise, while his 

 nose wrinkled and quivered. When Trottie brought 

 him to the fire, Henny-Penny offered him a half- 

 kernel of one of his walnuts. Instantly the little 

 nose stopped quivering, and Mousy sat up like a 

 squirrel on the back of Trottie's hand and nibbled 

 away until the piece was all gone. Each one of the 

 Band took turns in feeding him until he could eat 



