ITS STEALTHY MOVEMENTS. 



17 



and by its colour alone it is easily to be distinguished 

 from the common grey or brown mouse. Its tail is 

 short and stumpy, looking as if it had suffered ampu- 

 tation at an early period of life, and its nose is more 

 rounded than that of the common mouse. Indeed, 

 it has a very bluff and farmer-like aspect, and looks 

 as if it ought to wear top-boots. 



Common as these little creatures are, tbey are 

 seldom seen, because they keep themselves so close 

 to the ground, and assimilate so nearly with it in 



SHORT-TAILED FIELD-MOUSE. 



colour, that they cannot easily be descried among the 

 grass stalks, under shelter of which they pursue their 

 noiseless way. 



Their speed is not nearly so great as that of the 

 house-mice, but they are much more difficult to 

 catch ; for they wind among the grass so lithely, and 

 press upon the earth so closely, that the fingers 



