THE COMMON MOUSE. 
3&9 
It is therefore evident that the Mouse has no fear of light, but 
that it only chooses darkness as a means of safety for its young. 
The rapidity with which the Mouse can make a nest is some- 
what surprising. One of the Cambridge journals mentioned, 
some few years ago, that in a farmer’s house a loaf of newly- 
baked bread was placed upon a shelf, according to custom. 
Next day, a hole was observed in the loaf ; and when it was cut 
open, a Mouse and her nest were discovered within, the latter 
MOUSE NEST IN BOTTLE. 
having been made of paper. On examination, the material of 
the habitation was found to have been obtained from a copy- 
book, which had been torn into shreds, and arranged into the 
form of a nest. 
Within this curious home were nine young mice, pink, trans- 
parent, and newly born. Thus, in the space of thirty-six hours 
at the most, the loaf must have cooled, the interior been ex- 
cavated, the copy-book found and cut into suitable pieces, the 
