THE DUEL OF THE DORMICE.
[THE DUEL OF THE DORMICE.]
Out in the fields, in the hollow of an old willow-tree, two Dormice slept the whole winter long. They neither ate nor drank, nor did they so much as raise their heads from their pillows during all this dreary time. A ray of sunshine, as the sun passed right over their tree, would perhaps make one of them stretch out his paws; but as soon as the gleam had passed and left them, he would curl himself up all the closer in his nest, and go faster asleep than ever.
But the sun came one bright spring morning, and shone on the Dormice so warmly, that they turned round in their bed, stretched their paws, rubbed their eyes, yawned, and at last woke quite up.
“It is summer-time at last,” said the elder Dormouse, as he took a nut from his store of provisions and cracked it, “and we may now leave our winter’s bed.” “I don’t believe it,” replied the younger. “The wind blows cold; I shall go to sleep again.”
“Ah, that’s like your laziness,” rejoined the elder; “sleep on; I’m off to the wood.” And so saying, he scrambled up the tree, then down the outside of the trunk, and so into the wide meadows.
The younger Dormouse went to sleep. He slept for an hour, then he woke again, and finding his companion gone, he turned to the food and ate a hearty meal; then he slept again, but the sun had made his bed too hot: so he presently woke and made another attack on the provisions; and this he did the whole day long, until, at evening time, all the corn and nuts which the two Dormice had so diligently collected in the autumn, were gone. Soon the moon rose, and the young one curled himself for sleep.
In the meantime the elder had wandered about the fields; but the earth was wet, and no corn or fruit was ripe, so at night he returned to his nest wet and hungry. He ran straight to the store-room for food; but what was his surprise when he found nothing left but a few barley-corns! His cries woke his companion, from whom he demanded the provisions; the younger one muttered that he knew nothing about them, and pretended to sleep; but the unfortunate adventurer, driven to desperation by hunger, flew into a rage and struck the other with his claws: a fight ensued, and the whole neighbourhood was alarmed at the outcry.
Two Moles who were passing by the foot of the tree, hearing this dreadful noise, called out to the combatants to stop. The Dormice fearing it might be some of the Weasels who spoke, were silent instantly, and then the Moles bade them come out.