Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Anne Storer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "WEE TIM'ROUS BEASTIES" [Illustration: THE BLACK RAT SAT BACK ON HIS HAUNCHES, PRICKED UP HIS EARS, AND LISTENED.] "WEE TIM'ROUS BEASTIES" STUDIES OF ANIMAL LIFE AND CHARACTER BY DOUGLAS ENGLISH FELLOW OF THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AUTHOR OF "PHOTOGRAPHY FOR NATURALISTS" SECOND EDITION _WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS FROM_ _HIS PHOTOGRAPHS OF LIVING CREATURES_ LONDON S. H. BOUSFIELD & CO., LTD 12, PORTUGAL STREET, W.C. TO MY DEAR CHILDREN BRYAN AND WINNIE PREFACE For permission to include in this volume "The Awakening of the Dormouse," "The Purple Emperor," "The Harvest Mouse," and "The Trivial Fortunes of Molge," I have to thank the Editor of the _Girl's Realm_, and for "The Story of a Field Vole," and "The Passing of the Black Rat," I am indebted to the courtesy of the Editor of _Pearson's Magazine_. DOUGLAS ENGLISH. HAWLEY, DARTFORD, _September, 1903_. CONTENTS MUS RIDICULUS 1 THE STORY OF A FIELD VOLE 28 THE APOLOGY OF THE HOUSE SPARROW 48 THE AWAKENING OF THE DORMOUSE 66 THE PURPLE EMPEROR 88 THE HARVEST MOUSE 118 THE TRIVIAL FORTUNES OF MOLGE 142 THE PASSING OF THE BLACK RAT 171 THE FOX'S TRICKS ARE MANY; ONE IS ENOUGH FOR THE URCHIN 192 [Illustration] "WEE TIM'ROUS BEASTIES" MUS RIDICULUS Mus ridiculus! The taunt had been flung at him by a stout field-vole, and, by reason of its novelty as well as of its intrinsic impertinence, had sunk deep into his memory. He had felt at the time that "Wee sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie" was but a poor rejoinder. But he knew no Latin and chose what was next in obscurity. Besides, he was a young mouse then, and breathless with excitement. The scene rose vividly before him--the moon shining grimly overhead, and the mouse-folk stealing from the half-threshed stack across two fields into the farmstead. Since that night he had never entered a wheat-stack, for fear of the leaving of it. For there are some things which, from a mouse standpoint, will not bear repetition.