Then the kitten jumped. And the moment she was within his reach Master Meadow Mouse gave her a smart nip on the nose with his sharp little teeth.
The kitten squalled. And she backed hastily away. "You'd better run!" she advised Master Meadow Mouse. "I shall not give you another chance!"
But he stood fast. And the kitten didn't give him another chance, either to run from her, or to bite her nose again. She fell into a sudden panic and bounded awkwardly away toward the farmhouse.
And then Master Meadow Mouse ran. He ran home as fast as he could go.
The whole Meadow Mouse family enjoyed swimming. They liked to live near water. That was why they made their home in the low meadow, where Broad Brook ran deeper and more quietly than in the hillside pasture. And Black Creek, too, was near-by. So the Meadow Mouse family never had to travel far when they wanted a cool dip.
Almost as soon as he was able to wander about the meadow alone Master Meadow Mouse began to swim. He didn't have to be taught, any more than he had to be taught how to walk. Swimming came to him as easily as eating. And his mother never worried about his being drowned. But when he went for his first swim in Black Creek Mrs. Meadow Mouse couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.