Whitefoot the Wood Mouse | Page 4

disappearing so fast that it began to
look as if in a little while there would be no wood at all.
Whitefoot quite lost his appetite. He no longer came out to take food
from Farmer Brown's boy's hand. He stayed right in his snug little
home and worried.
Now Farmer Brown's boy had not once thought of the trouble he was
making. He wondered what had become of Whitefoot, and in his turn
he began to worry. He was afraid that something had happened to his
little friend. He was thinking of this as he fed the sticks of wood to the

fire for boiling the sap to make syrup and sugar. Finally, as he pulled
away two big sticks, he saw something that made him whistle with
surprise. It was Whitefoot's nest which he had so cleverly hidden way
down underneath that pile of wood when he had first moved into the
sugar-house. With a frightened little squeak, Whitefoot ran out,
scurried across the little sugar-house and out though the open door.
Farmer Brown's boy understood. He understood perfectly that little
people like Whitefoot want their homes hidden away in the dark. "Poor
little chap," said Farmer Brown's boy." He had a regular castle here and
we have destroyed it. He's got the snuggest kind of a little nest here, but
he won't come back to it so long as it is right out in plain sight. He
probably thinks we have been hunting for this little home of his. Hello!
Here's his storehouse! I've often wondered how the little rascal could
eat so much, but now I understand. He stored away here more than half
of the good things I have given him. I am glad he did. If he hadn't, he
might not come back, but I feel sure that to-night, when all is quiet, he
will come back to take away all his food. I must do something to keep
him here."
Farmer Brown's boy sat down to think things over. Then he got an old
box and made a little round hole in one end of it. Very carefully he took
up Whitefoot's nest and placed it under the old box in the darkest
corner of the sugar-house. Then he carried all Whitefoot's supplies over
there and put them under the box. He went outside, and got some
branches of hemlock and threw these in a little pile over the box. After
this he scattered some crumbs just outside.
Late that night Whitefoot did come back. The crumbs led him to the old
box. He crept inside. There was his snug little home! All in a second
Whitefoot understood, and trust and happiness returned.

CHAPTER VI
: A Very Careless Jump
Whitefoot once more was happy. When he found his snug little nest
and his store of food under that old box in the darkest corner of Farmer
Brown's sugar-house, he knew that Farmer Brown's boy must have
placed them there. It was better than the old place under the woodpile.
It was the best place for a home Whitefoot ever had had. It didn't take

him long to change his mind about leaving the little sugar-house.
Somehow he seemed to know right down inside that his home would
not again be disturbed.
So he proceeded to rearrange his nest and to put all his supplies of food
in one corner of the old box. When everything was placed to suit him
he ventured out, for now that he no longer feared Farmer Brown's boy
he wanted to see all that was going on. He liked to jump up on the
bench where Farmer Brown's boy sometimes sat. He would climb up to
where Farmer Brown's boy's coat hung and explore the pockets of it.
Once he stole Farmer Brown's boy's handkerchief. He wanted it to add
to the material his nest was made of. Farmer Brown's boy discovered it
just as it was disappearing, and how he laughed as he pulled it away.
So, what with eating and sleeping and playing about, secure in the
feeling that no harm could come to him, Whitefoot was happier than
ever before in his little life. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy and
Farmer Brown and Bowser the Hound were his friends. He knew, too,
that so long as they were about, none of his enemies would dare come
near. This being so, of course there was nothing to be afraid of. No
harm could possibly come to him. At least, that is what Whitefoot
thought.
But you know, enemies are not the only dangers to watch out for.
Accidents will happen. When they do happen, it is very likely to be
when the possibility of them is farthest from your thoughts. Almost
always they are due