164 CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



It surprises one to see how rapidly he can scamper 

 over the ground, or chmb shrubs and plants as cleverly 

 as any monkey, running out on the slenderest twigs 

 or upon leaves or stalks of grass so slight that they 

 bend nearly to the ground, even with his small weight, 

 generally in pursuit of flies, which are the game that 

 harvest mice principally hunt ; and it is worth while to 

 see how swift his leap and sure his aim when he takes 

 his prey. 



His tail, it will be noticed, is the greatest possible 

 help to him in climbing, for he not only employs it 

 as a rope-walker uses a balance pole, but it is to some 

 degree prehensile — that is, it can be employed to seize 

 and to wrap around small twigs and branches to sup- 

 port him while he is climbing, in which he is also 

 aided by the fact that the joints of his hind feet are 

 so constructed that " they can be turned almost half 

 around, which permits great freedom of movement." 



There is something about some of these small ani- 

 mals that reminds one of birds. It is well known that 

 there are individuals among the common mice that 

 can sing like birds. Mr. Elliot Coues says, in the 

 Standard Natural History : 



" There is only one capacity of the house mouse to 

 which I need allude, and that is its singing. A mouse 

 I once had presented to me was a great singer. Plac- 

 ing the cage in my bedroom, I turned off the gas and 

 retired, to give it every encouragement to proceed 

 with the expected programme in quiet and darkness, 

 but with grave doubts that it would favor me with a 

 song. In a few minutes, however, the little musician 



