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 
