""Yes; I must do it," said the fell-mouse, "if we are to have anything to live on."
""The husks are long and the kernels full this year," said the town-mouse; "so I dare say they will help to fill out a starveling body."
""You are quite right," said the fell-mouse, and then she told her how well and happily she lived. But the town-mouse thought she was better off, and the fell-mouse would not give in, but said there was no place so good as wood and fell, and as for herself, she had far the best of it.
"Still the town-mouse said she was sure she had the best of it, and they could not agree at all. So, at last, they promised to pay one another a visit at Yule, that they might taste and see which lived best. The town-mouse was the one that had to pay the first visit, and she went through woods and deep dales, for though the fell-mouse had come down to the lowlands for the winter, the road was both long and heavy. It was up-hill work, and the snow was both deep and soft, so that she was both weary and hungry by the time she got to her journey"s end.
""Now I shall be glad to get some food," she said, when she got there.
As for the fell-mouse, she had sc.r.a.ped together all sorts of good things. There were kernels of nuts, and liquorish-root and other roots, and much else that grows in wood and field. All this she had in a hole deep under ground where it would not freeze, and close by was a spring which was open all the winter, so that she could drink as much water as she chose. There was plenty of what was to be had, and they fed both well and good; but the town-mouse thought it was not more than sorry fare.
""One can keep life together with this," she said; "but it isn"t choice, not at all. But now you must be so kind as come to me, and taste what we have in town."
"Well, the fell-mouse was willing, and it was not long before she came.
Then the town-mouse had gathered together something of all the Christmas fare which the mistress of the house had dropped as she went about, when she had taken a drop too much at Yule. There were bits of cheese, and odds and ends of b.u.t.ter and tallow, and cheesecakes and tipsycake, and much else that was nice. In the jar under the ale-tap she had drink enough, and the whole room was full of all kinds of dainties. They fed and lived well, and there was no end to the fell-mouse"s greediness.
Such fare she had never tasted. At last, she got thirsty, for the food was both strong and rich, and now she must have a drink of water.
""It is not far off to the ale," said the town-mouse; "that"s the drink for us;" and with that she jumped up on the edge of the jar, and drank her thirst out, but she drank no more than she could carry, for she knew the Yule ale and how strong it was. But as for the fell-mouse, she thought it famous drink, for she had never tasted anything but water, and now she took sip after sip; but she was no judge of strong drink, and so the end was she got drunk, for she tumbled down and got wild in her head, and felt her feet tingle, till she began to run and to jump about from one beer-barrel to the other, and to dance and cut capers on the shelves among the cups and jugs, and to whistle and whine, just as though she were tipsy and silly; and tipsy she was, there was no gainsaying it.
""You mustn"t behave as though you had just come from the hills," said the town-mouse. "Don"t make such a noise, and don"t lead us such a life; we have a hard master here."
"But the fell-mouse said: "She cared not a pin for man or master!"
"But all this while the cat sat up on the trap-door above the cellar, and listened and spied both to their talk and pranks. Just then, the goody came down to draw a mug of ale, and as she lifted the trap-door, the cat stole into the cellar and fixed her claws into the fell-mouse.
Then there was another dance. The town-mouse crept into her hole, and sat safe looking on, but the fell-mouse got sober all at once as soon as she felt the cat"s claws.
""Oh, my dear master, my dear master; be merciful and spare my life, and I"ll tell you a story." That was what she said.
""Out with it then," said the cat.
""Once on a time there were two small mice," said the fell-mouse; and she squeaked so pitifully and slowly, for she wanted to drag the story out as long as she could.
""Then they were not alone," said the cat, both sharply and drily.
""And so we had a steak we were going to cook."
""Then you were not starved," said the cat.
""So we put it up on the roof that it might cool itself well," said the fell-mouse.
""Then you didn"t burn your tongues," said the cat.
""So, then the fox and the crow came and gobbled it up," said the fell-mouse.
""And so I"ll gobble you up," said the cat.
"But just then the goody slammed to the trap-door again, so that the cat got afraid and loosed her hold, and--pop--the fell-mouse was away in the town-mouse"s hole, and from it there was a way out into the snow, and the fell-mouse was not slow in setting off home.
""This you call living well, and you say that you live best?" she said to the town-mouse. "Heaven help me to a better mind, for with such a big house, and such a hawk for a master I could scarce get off with my life."
SILLY MATT.
"Once on a time there was a goody who had a son called Matthew, but he was so stupid that he had no sense for anything, nor would he do much either; and the little he did was always topsy-turvy and never right, and so they never called him anything but "Silly Matt."
"All this the goody thought bad; and it was still worse she thought that her son idled about and never turned his hand to anything else than yawning and stretching himself between the four walls.
"Now close to where they lived ran a great river, and the stream was strong and bad to cross. So, one day, the goody said to the lad, there was no lack of timber there, for it grew almost up to the cottage-wall; he must cut some down and drag it to the bank and try to build a bridge over the river and take toll, and then he would both have something to do and something to live upon besides.
"Yes! Matt thought so too, for his mother had said it; what she begged him do, he would do. That was safe and sure he said, for what she said must be so and not otherwise. So he hewed down timber and dragged it down and built a bridge. It didn"t go so awfully fast with the work, but at any rate he had his hands full while it went on.
"When the bridge was ready, the lad was to stand down at its end and take toll of those who wanted to cross, and his mother bade him be sure not to let any one over unless they paid the toll. It was all the same, she said, if it were not always in money. Goods and wares were just as good pay.
"So the first day came three chaps with each his load of hay, and wanted to cross the bridge.
""No! no!" said the lad; "you can"t go over till I"ve taken the toll."
""We"ve nothing to pay it with," they said.
""Well, then! you can"t cross; but it"s all the same, if it isn"t money.
Goods will do just as well."
"So they gave him each a wisp of hay, and he had as much as would go on a little hand-sledge, and then they had leave to pa.s.s over the bridge.
"Next came a pedlar with his pack, who sold needles and thread, and such like small wares, and he wanted to cross.
""You can"t cross, till you have paid the toll," said the lad.
""I"ve nothing to pay it with," said the pedlar.
""You have wares, at any rate."
"So the pedlar took out two needles and gave them him, and then he had leave to cross the bridge. As for the needles, the lad stuck them into the hay, and soon set off home.
"So when he got home, he said, "Now, I have taken the toll, and got something to live on."
""What did you get?" asked the goody.
""Oh!" said he, "there came three chaps, each with his load of hay. They each gave me a wisp of hay, so that I got a little sledge-load; and next, I got two needles from a pedlar."
""What did you do with the hay?" asked the goody.
""I tried it between my teeth; but it tasted only of gra.s.s, so I threw into the river."
""You ought to have spread it out on the byre-floor," said the goody.
""Well! I"ll do that next time, mother," he said.