that you were
fishing."

"So I was!" Peter Mink exclaimed with a horrid chuckle. "I was fishing
for mice. And if you'd been a little less careful I'd have caught one,
too."

"Good day!" said Master Meadow Mouse. "Good day and good-by!"

"Don't say good-by!" Peter Mink corrected. "Say, 'Till we meet again!'"

But Master Meadow Mouse had already pulled his head out of sight and
vanished inside his tunnel.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

23

Moving Day

MASTER MEADOW MOUSE had a great-uncle who was known as Uncle Billy. He
was the oldest of all the members of the Meadow Mouse family that lived
under the snow near the brook. Hobbling along through one of the tunnels
beneath the seven crusts of snow he happened to meet Master Meadow Mouse
as he was returning from his talk with Peter Mink.

"I just saw Peter Mink at the brook!" Master Meadow Mouse called.

"Ha!" Uncle Billy snorted. "The question is, did he see you?"

"He did," Master Meadow Mouse answered with no little pride, for he
felt quite important. "He not only saw me. He talked with me."

"Ha!" Uncle Billy snorted again. "Then this is moving day."

"Why, it's not the first of May, is it?" Master Meadow Mouse cried.

"Hardly!" said Uncle Billy, with something like a sniff. "It's not
Ground Hog Day yet; and that's only the second of February."

"Then why should anybody move, right in the middle of winter?" Master
Meadow Mouse wanted to know.

"Because--" Uncle Billy declared hotly--"because somebody has gone and
let Peter Mink know where we're spending the winter. And it's not safe
for us to stay here any longer."

Master Meadow Mouse couldn't help feeling guilty. Still, he hoped he
hadn't made as great a mistake as Uncle Billy would have him believe.

"I've heard," he ventured, "that Peter Mink can squeeze through any hole
that's big enough for his head. But surely he couldn't get even his flat
head into one of our passages."

"He can burrow in the snow!" Uncle Billy snapped. "He can and he will.
He'll come sniffing and listening all around here. And when he finds a
likely spot to dig, down he'll go through drifts and crusts until he
reaches the stubble." Uncle Billy shook his head and drew a long breath.
"Young man," he said, "you've got us into a peck of trouble. This whole
village has to move. Don't let it happen again!"

By that time others of the villagers had gathered round and heard the
news. Of course the news spread fast.