Cole's Funny Picture Book No. 1
Her little brain was in a whirr!
Five minutes--ten--but not a paw
Had puss put forth! "I never saw
A cat like this!" the poor mouse said.
A brave bold thought came in her head--
Her wee heart beating pit-a-pat,
She moved her own paw--touched the cat--
Then sprang upon it with a squeal
And made a most delicious meal
"Ho! ho!" she cried, "Sugar! spice!
And everything that's good and nice--
That's what cats are made of,
The cats that we're afraid of!"
Then up the stairs she madly pranced,
And o'er the attic floor she danced
And then she stood upon her head
And to her 'stonished friends she said,
"O, joy to every mouse and rat,
For I have eaten up the cat!"
The Mice
The mice are in their holes,
And there they hide by day;
But when 'tis still at night,
They all come out to play.
They climb up on the shelves,
And taste of all they please;
They drink the milk and cream,
And eat the bread and cheese.
But if they hear the cat,
At once they stop their fun;
In fright they seek their holes
As fast as they can run.
Three Mice
Three Mice went into
A hole to spin,
Puss came by,
Puss peeped in;
What are you doing,
My little old men?
We're weaving coats
For gentlemen.
Shall I come and help you
To wind up your threads?
Oh, no, Mrs. Pussy,
You'd bite off our heads!
Says Pussy, "You are
So wondrous wise
I love your whiskers
And round black eyes;
Your house is the prettiest
House I see.
And I think there is room
For you and me."
The mice were so pleased
That they opened the door,
And Pussy soon laid them
All dead on the floor.
"Run Mousey, Run!"
I am sitting by the fireside,
Reading, and very still,
There comes a little sharp-eyed mouse,
And run about he will.
He flies along the mantelpiece
He darts beneath the fender;
It's just as well that Jane's not here,
Or into fits he'd send her.
And now he's nibbling at some cake
She left upon the table.
He seems to think I'm somebody
To hurt a mouse unable.
Run, mousey, run! I hear the cat,
She's scratching at the door,
Once she comes in, you'll have no chance
Beneath her savage claw.
Run, mousey, run! I hear Jane's foot,
She's coming up to bed,
If puss but makes a spring at you,
Poor mousey, you'll be dead!
A Mouse Caught in a Cage
I'm only a poor little mouse, ma'am!
I live in the wall of your house, ma'am!
With a fragment of cheese, and a very few peas,
I was having a little carouse, ma'am!
No mischief at all I intend, ma'am!
I hope you will act as my friend, ma'am!
If my life you should take, many hearts it would break,
And the trouble would be without end, ma'am!
My wife lives in there in the crack, ma'am!
She's waiting foe me to come back, ma'am!
She hoped I might find a bit of rind,
Or the children their dinner will lack, ma'am!
I never was given to strife, ma'am!
(Don't look at that terrible knife, ma'am!)
The noise overhead that disturbs you in bed,
'T is the rats, I will venture my life, ma'am!
In your eyes I see mercy I'm sure, ma'am!
Oh, there's no need to open the door, ma'am!
I'll slip through the crack, and I'll never come back,
Oh I'll never come back any more, ma'am!
The Foolish Mouse
In a crack, near the cupboard,
With dainties provided,
A certain young mouse
With her mother resided;
So securely they lived,
In that snug, quiet spot,
Any mouse in the land
Might have envied their lot.
But one day the young mouse,
Which was given to roam,
Having made an excursion
Some way from her home,
On a sudden returned,
With such joy in her eyes,
That her grey, sedate parent
Expressed some surprise,
"Oh mother," said she,
"The good folks of this house
I'm convinced, have not any
Ill-will to a mouse;
And those tales can't be true
You always are telling,
For they've been at such pains
To construct us a dwelling.
"The floor is of wood,
And the walls are of wires
Exactly the size that
One's comfort requires;
And I'm sure that we there
Shall have nothing to fear,
If ten cats, with kittens,
At once should appear.
"And then they have made
Such nice holes in the wall,
One could slip in and out,
With no trouble at all;
But forcing one through
Such rough crannies as these,
Always gives one's poor ribs
A most terrible squeeze.
"But the best of all is,
They've provided, as well,
A large piece of cheese,
Of most exquisite smell;
'Twas so nice, I had put
In my head to go through,
When I thought it my duty
To come and fetch you."
"Ah, child," said the mother,
"Believe, I entreat,
Both the cage and the cheese
Are a terrible cheat;
Do not think all that trouble
They took for our good,
They would catch us and kill us
All there if they could.
"Thus they've caught and killed scores,
And I never could learn,
That a mouse who once entered
Did ever return."
Let young people mind
What the old people say.
And, when danger is near them,
Keep out of the way.
[Page 183--Mousey Land]
A Clever and Good Mother Mouse
One Summer day the sun shone bright,
Mid sweet flowers roved the bee,
And I wandered in a garden old
Beside the deep blue sea.
But close at hand, a shady path,
Beneath some beech trees wound,
And there. that sultry summer day,
A pleasant seat I found.
Suddenly, just beside my chair,
A little sound I heard;
A scratch upon the gravel path,
As of a mouse or bird.
I turned my head; there, on the path,
What strange sight did I see!
A little mouse, and in her mouth
Another still more wee.
Softly she crept across the path,
And then, her journey done,
In a hole beneath the green grass verge
She laid her little one.
And back and forth from side to side,
I watched her carry five
Sweet little mice, her own dear brood,
Long tailed, and all alive.
She never wearied in her work,
Yet oh! so small was she!
And thus, that bright, hot summer day
She moved her nursery.
Dear mother mouse! My verse has told
Your patient loving deed;
Methinks our boys and girls may learn
Some lessons as they read.
Francis E. Cooke
The True History of a Poor Little Mouse
A poor little mouse
Had once made him a nest,
And he fancied, the warmest,
And safest, and best,
That a poor little mouse could enjoy;
So snug and convenient,
So out of the way.
This poor little mouse
And his family lay,
They fear'd neither pussy nor boy.
It was in a store
That was seldom in use,
Where shavings and papers
Were scattered in loose,
That this poor little mouse made his hole,
But alas! Master Johnny
Had seen him one day,
As in a great fright
He had scampered away,
With a piece of plum pudding he stole.
As soon as young Johnny
(Who, wicked and bad,
No pitiful thoughts
For dumb animals had)
Descried the poor fellow's retreat,
He crept to the shavings
And set them alight,
And, before the poor mouse
Could run off in its fright,
It was smother'd to death in the heat!
Poor mouse! how it squeak'd
I can't bear to relate,
Nor how its poor little
Ones hopp'd in the grate,
And died, one by one, in the flame!
I should not much wonder
To hear, that, some night,
This wicked boy's bed-curtains
Catching alight,
He suffered exactly the same.
Ann Taylor
The Mouse's Call
A little mouse crept out one day,
When all was still about;
To dollie's house he took his way,
The lady being out.
He skipped about with bead-bright eyes
From table down to chair;
He thought the house was just the size
For him to settle there.
He found some jelly cake so nice,
This naughty little mouse;
He nibbled first, then in a trice
'Twas gone from dollie's house.
He curl'd himself upon the floor,
To have a little nap,
When suddenly upon the floor
There came a fearful rap.
The mouse who had not left a crumb,
With fear began to shake,
For dollie's mistress back had come
To get her piece of cake.
She opened wide the little house,
Her doll lay on her arm,
And when she spied the trembling mouse
She cried out with alarm.
She tumbled back upon the ground,
Her dear doll falling too,
While the mouse went rushing round,
Not knowing what to do.
At last he tumbled down the stair,
Then to his hole he flew;
And which did most the other scare
They never, never knew.
[Page 184--Froggy Land]
The Foolish Frog
In a tank at the foot of the hill
Lived Mr. and Mrs. Frog,
At the head of the sparkling rill,
By the side of a queachy bog;
And they had children ten--
All froggies as yellow as gold,
Who loved to play on the fen,
But they often were over-bold.
Now it fell out one bright day,
As it never had done before,
When Father Frog was away
A stickleback sailed to the door.
"Oh! Mrs. Frog," said he,
"Your sister is very ill;
And much she wants to see
You down at the water mill."
Then Mother frog showed her grief
In such tears as you never saw;
And, having no handkerchief,
She wiped her eyes with a paw.
Said she, "Now, froggies dear,
You must not go to the fen:
There is no danger here,
And I'll soon come back again!"
But the naughty little froggies,
Disobeyed their mother and went.
Then a duck, which had lazily swum
For hours in a reedy pool,
Seeing the shadows come,
And feeling the air grow cool.
With a "Quack, quack, quack," came out
She meant, "It is time to sup!"
So finding the froggies about,
She gobbled them quickly up.
So Mr. and Mrs. Frog,
By the peeping stars made bold,
Came back by the queachy bog,
To their froggies all yellow as gold.
They never saw them again--
Alas! that it should be so.
They were told not to go to the fen;
But the did not obey, you know.
"Early Days"
Marriage of Mr. Froggie
There was a Frog
Lived in a bog--
A Frog of high degree--
A stylish youth,
And yet, forsooth,
A bachelor was he.
He had not wed
Because, he said,
He'd ne'er in all his life
Seen in the bog
A pollywog
He cared to make his wife.
But one fine day,
When drest up gay,
He passed a pretty house,
And there beside
The window spied
A most attractive mouse.
He raised his hat,
And gazing at
Miss Mouse, in suit of gray,
He made a bow,
Likewise a vow
To marry her straightway.
When he was drest
In scarlet vest,
And coat of velvet sheen
With frills of lace,
And sword in place,
His like was nowhere seen.
His smile was bland,
His style so grand,
He said with pride, "I know
Miss Mouse so fair,
Can find nowhere
So suitable a beau!
"If she'll agree
To live with me,
And be my faithful wife,