s of the men encouraging the dogs;
many a poor mouse did she see running away in hopes of making its
escape, but pursued and devoured by the dogs.

"Several times poor Downy had like to have been discovered by the
dogs, or crushed beneath the horses' feet, but she crouched very close
to the ground, and lay so still, she hardly breathed, so great was her
fear; at length she watched an opportunity, when no one was near, to
quit her retreat, and ran with all the speed she could, not once
daring to pause or look behind, till she gained the farmer's orchard;
where she laid among the long grass, panting, and half dead with
terror and fatigue; she hid herself toward night under the roots of an
old apple-tree; for she was very much afraid of a great white owl
which she had seen flying near.

[Illustration]

"It was in vain for her to lament the sad fate of her mother and
brethren; she could not recal them to life; and Downy was thankful
that she had escaped so well; but the cold weather was not gone yet,
and poor little Downy knew she had nothing to eat and no warm house to
live in; but must make herself one; and she was afraid she should be
starved to death with hunger, or die with cold. These thoughts
occupied her mind, till she fell asleep, nor did she awake next
morning till quite late, and found herself very hungry. She first
peeped out of her hole, and seeing nothing near to hurt her, she
ventured forth in search of some food; she rummaged among the dead
leaves for some time, without success, till chance led her to a row of
nut-trees; here, after a diligent search, she had the good fortune to
discover three nuts, one of which she eat, being very hungry, and the
rest she carried home to her tree; but Downy knew they would not last
long, and so thought it best to try and get more, she therefore
deposited them safely away, and sat off to look for more provisions;
she spent nearly the whole day among the nut-trees, but returned home
only with one nut; and a shower of snow falling, she was forced to
return to her dwelling, and did not go out any more that day, but laid
still, and thought how she should make herself a warm nest; for she
was very cold here, having been used to the close warm stack, where
scarce any air entered. She eat very sparingly of her nuts, saving as
much as possible for the morrow, fearing lest the snow should hinder
her looking for more; but there had not fallen much, and in the
morning, the sun co