MISCHIEVOUS IMAGINATIONS 



91 



my mind to beware of holes in the future that smelt 

 of anything but rats. 



So much for one man's mischievous imagination, 

 which prospered all too well. Now for another 

 tale of sorrow. Picture to yourself a nice comfort- 

 able corn-stack in the corner of a field. It had 

 stood there longer than usual, and the corn was 

 now beautifully rich and mellow within it. This, 

 combined with the fact that there was an admirable 

 little pond at a distance of about twenty yards, 

 made it an ideal home for us. We rats are very 

 fond of water, and another of our peculiarities, 

 which we share with rabbits, is that we always take 

 the same track night after night. The ob\dous 

 result was that the ground between the stack and 

 the pond looked rather like the outside of a big 

 railway-station, with tracks leading in all directions. 

 We had made most of our holes in the foundations 

 of the stack, and from each of these holes there 

 was a well-worn track to the edge of the pond. It 

 is an unfortunate habit of ours, this habit of making 

 roads for ourselves, as the sequel will show ; but it 

 is also very convenient, if you get any sudden fright 

 on a dark night, to be able to start off at once in 

 the right direction, running as fast as ever you can, 

 and to know that you are certain to come to your 



