THE HARVEST MOUSE 



167 



merits, it runs up a stout grass stem as nimbly as a squirrel runs 

 up a tree, and begins to eat the ripe seed at the top. We notice, 

 also, that it grasps the stem, not only with its little paws, but 

 also with the tip of its tail, which it coils tightly round it. 



We have already read about the spider-monkeys of South 

 America — those curious monkeys with long, strong tails, which 

 they can coil tightly round the branches as they pass along 

 through the trees. Now the tail of a harvest mouse is very much 



Harvest Mice and Nest 



like that of a spider- monkey, and the little animal uses it in 

 just the same way. So that it has not only four useful, hand- 

 like paws, but also a tail which serves as a sort oi fifth hand. 



The harvest mouse builds an odd little nest, which is always 

 fastened to three or four stems of grass or corn, about a foot 

 from the ground, and is about as large as a cricket-ball. It is 

 made of long strips of dry grass, which the clever little animal 

 weaves into a kind of close basket-work. Strange to say, the 

 mouse does not make any entrance - hole, but pulls the sides of 

 the nest carefully together when it comes out, so as not to leave 

 the smallest opening. Thus it looks as if there were no way of 

 entering or leaving it. 



In this remarkable nest the harvest mouse brings up her 

 family of eight or nine little ones. They grow so rapidly that 

 one would think they would soon become too big for their 

 home. But the walls of the nest are so elastic that they stretch 

 just as much as is needed. It thus affords plenty of room for 



