All the old rat’s treasures were evidently collected here. Crusts of bread, rinds of cheese, scraps of bacon, were lying around; and bits of rags and twine were collected in a corner, and evidently served as Graywhisker’s bed.
“You’ll have to make your bed over to-night, my friend,” said the sparrow, rumpling the bed over and scattering the rags all over the floor. “Hallo! what’s this?” he said, as he came upon a smooth round object.
“I declare, if it isn’t a hen’s egg! The old thief! I wonder how he managed to get it in here without breaking it! I guess I’ll save him the trouble of breaking it;” and he pecked at it until he had made a hole large enough for the inside of the egg to run out. He gave a mischievous laugh as he saw the liquid oozing out, and then continued his search.
“Whew!” he said again; “it’s getting rather stifling here, I must hurry up. Where in the world can that ribbon be?” and he looked carefully around in every direction. “Hooray!” he exclaimed, as he caught sight of a little piece of red silk hanging from a nail over his head. “Thought he’d got it hid away safely, didn’t he?” and in a twinkling he had hopped up and caught the ribbon securely in his beak.
“Now for a little fresh air,” said the sparrow; “I couldn’t stand it much longer.”
He looked around for the entrance to the passage-way. There were three holes just alike; which was the right one? He stood perplexed. “What a fool I was,” he said to himself, “not to take more notice! This is a pretty fix! Well, here goes! I’ll try each one, and one of them must lead out.” So he hopped up to the hole nearest him and boldly entered. It was utterly dark, and he felt his way for a time in silence; but the sparrow, who lived out in the pure air, was not accustomed to the close and musty atmosphere of an old rat-hole, and he began to feel faint and a little bewildered. What if he shouldn’t be able to find his way at all? But he was a brave little fellow, and he thrust the thought aside. “I will get out, I won’t give up,” he said resolutely. “This hole must lead somewhere;” and he pushed bravely on.
“Seems to me I’ve gone far enough to take me out; I don’t understand it. My strength won’t hold out to go back and try another entrance.” He thought of the bright-eyed sparrow and his three little ones, and he determined to hold out, for they had never seemed so dear to him as they did now that the hope of seeing them again appeared so small. With a great effort he kept on, holding the bit of ribbon in his beak. Soon he turned a sharp corner, and with joy he beheld a ray of light in the distance. The long dark passage led into the main passage-way, and he was safe.
Just as he was about to emerge into the daylight a faint rustle met his quick ears, and with horror he beheld the barn-cat seated at the entrance.
There was nothing to be done but to wait patiently and see what would happen next. The air that came in through the entrance of the hole relieved the dreadful faintness that had so oppressed him; so he sat holding the ribbon securely in his beak, but with his brave little heart beating pretty rapidly.
All at once a sudden noise startled him, and peeping cautiously out he saw the barn-cat chasing Graywhisker across the barn-floor. Quick as a flash the sparrow was out and had flown in safety to the window-sill, when Graywhisker disappeared into a hole in the wall, and the barn-cat returned with a crestfallen air to her kittens.