The Mouse Family Robinson Read Free Page A

cage. Bill was sure that pets like dogs and cats enjoyed being talked to, so why should mice be any different?

    In the last cage was a
chocolate doe, all by herself because she was soon to have babies. Bill took a very small bit of broken cookie from a tin and put it down in front of her nose.

    â€œD’you know,” he said to her, “what I’d love to do? I’d love to tame a wild mouse. I bet noone’s ever done that. I’d have to catch one first though—a young one.” Even as he said these last words, Bill heard a little scratching noise, and there, coming out of the hole in the molding, was a young house mouse.

    Beaumont, the brightest, most adventurous, and now indeed the boldest of John and Janet’s six children, had heard the sound of Bill’s voice from the cellar below and had scuttled back up the runway to see what a giant looked like. Never in his short life had he seen one before.
    How strange! thought Bill. Just the kind of mouse that I need, but how do I catch it?
    Very slowly, he took another piece of cookie
from the tin. Very slowly, he moved toward the young mouse, who crouched by the hole below, whiskers twitching. Very slowly, Bill Black offered the piece of cookie to Beaumont Robinson.

    They looked into each other’s eyes and each had much the same feelings. They liked the look of one another.
    This is a very bold little house mouse , thought Bill. Could I make a pet of him?
    This is a very nice giant , thought Beaumont. I’m not afraid of him at all.
    He took a bite of cookie.
    â€œDelicious!” he said.

    All Bill heard, of course, was a squeak, but it sounded like a happy squeak. Suddenly, the young mouse turned and disappeared down the hole.
    â€œDad!” cried Beaumont as he reached the cellar. “There’s ever such a nice giant up above us. He gave me a lovely piece of cookie. Come up and see him!” and he turned and dashed up the runway again, followed by Ambrose and Camilla and Desdemona and Eustace and Felicity.
    After them went Janet, calling, “Come back, children!” and after her went John, calling, “Come back, Janet!”
    To his surprise, Bill found himself looking at five more mousekins, and then to his astonishment, two adult mice emerged from the hole.
    Mom and Dad and six kids , he thought, and crumbled more cookie on the floor. They were all feeding greedily when another mouse came up out of the hole, a mouse that, Bill could see, looked very old and was a bit wobbly on its legs. Immediately the mousekins surrounded it, squeaking happily.

    Must be the grandfather, thought Bill. How could he know that they were all saying, “Come on, Uncle Brown! Have some cookie!” or that Janet and John were saying, “Yes, help yourself, Mr. Brown”?
    The mice listened as the giant made noises. How could they know that he was saying, “What a lovely family! Wherever did you come from? Would you like me to make you a special home, here in the Mousery? I don’t mean a cage, I don’t want to shut you up, but somewhere comfy and warm for you? How would you like that?”

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    In fact, the Robinson family and their friend Mr. Brown never did get to live in the Mousery at number 16. To be sure, they came up from the cellar whenever they heard the sound of Bill’s voice as he talked to his pet mice. They knew he would always give them something to eat.
Beaumont was the first of them who actually took food from the giant’s hand, but the others soon did too.
    I wanted to tame a wild mouse , thought Bill, and now it looks as though I’ve tamed nine! And I daresay there’ll be more before long. I must make a proper home for them.
    So one day, when the Robinsons and Mr. Brown came up from the cellar, they found a large shallow box on the floor of the Mousery. Bill had put bedding in it, over which he had scattered a lot of canary seed, and by the time John Robinson and his family and