Chapter 18

A TALK WITH MR. MEADOW MOUSE



THE next time she saw Mr. Meadow Mouse Mrs. Robin gave him Grandfather Mole's message. "He says," said she, "he'd like to have a talk with you."

"Does he?" Mr. Meadow Mouse exclaimed. "Now I wonder what he has to say! I returned his umbrella to him, after the rain. So it can't be about that."

"If I wanted to know, I'd go and find Grandfather Mole," Mrs. Robin suggested tartly.

Being a mild sort of person, Mr. Meadow Mouse thanked Mrs. Robin politely, both for the message and for the advice. And then, scampering to a certain spot that he knew, near the fence, he disappeared through an opening into the ground. It was one of Grandfather Mole's doorways. Mr. Meadow Mouse did not hesitate to use it, being one of those fortunate folk that are quite at home anywhere. It made little difference to him whether he was above the ground or in it. And aside from Grandfather Mole and his own family there was no one that knew his way about Grandfather Mole's galleries as well as Mr. Meadow Mouse.

To be sure, he had some trouble in finding the old gentleman, there were so many different passages in which to look for him. But at last Mr. Meadow Mouse met Grandfather Mole in a long tunnel that followed a row of newly planted corn.

"Ah, ha!" Grandfather Mole cried. "There's something I want to say to you."

"So I hear!" Mr. Meadow Mouse replied a bit anxiously, for Grandfather Mole sounded none too pleasant.

"You've been getting me into trouble with old Mr. Crow," Grandfather Mole complained. "He thinks I've been eating the seed corn that Farmer Green planted. And if I told him that it was you that's done it, and that you've been using my galleries to reach the hills of corn, Mr. Crow would never believe what I said."

"It looks bad for you, doesn't it?" said Mr. Meadow Mouse more cheerfully.

Somehow his remark displeased Grandfather Mole.

"You'd better be careful what you say!" he warned Mr. Meadow Mouse. "If you make me angry it will go hard with you."

Now, Grandfather Mole was known to be a terrible fighter when aroused. And Mr. Meadow Mouse had no liking for a fight with any one. So he moved backward a few steps and made ready to run.

"I'm sorry if I have caused you trouble," he said. "Couldn't you explain to Mr. Crow that you have tunnelled into the hills of corn in order to catch the grubs that would eat the corn if you didn't eat them first? Can't you tell him that you are helping the corn crop, instead of ruining it?"

Grandfather Mole shook his head.

"You're not much acquainted with Mr. Crow," he replied. "If he has made up his mind that I'm stealing corn nothing I could say would