Grasshopper Green and the Meadow Mice — Themes and Context

They were all very merry that evening at the supper table. Jolly Father Meadow-Mouse told them a rattling good yarn about the adventures of some young water-rats who put to sea in an old pie plate and determined to become pie-rats! (Your mother will explain this little joke.)

After supper, while the youngsters were doing their lessons, Grasshopper Green helped Father and Mother Meadow-Mouse with the dishes. It made him feel very sad to think that he must soon be leaving this pleasant household.

He thanked Father and Mother Meadow-Mouse for all their goodness, and started to say that he ought to be leaving the next morning, as he had nothing with which to pay for his keep, but Father Meadow-Mouse interrupted him.

"You'll do no such thing," he exclaimed heartily. "Now you just listen to me. If you want to pay us, you can do it in this way. Give us all dancing lessons, and play us a lively tune on your little fiddle now and then, for every one knows that all Grasshoppers are wonderful dancers and fiddlers."

This plan, of course, just suited Grasshopper Green. In fact he was so delighted at the prospect of spending the winter with the merry, kind-hearted Meadow-Mice that he made a tremendous leap which carried him clear to the other end of the room. A second leap _almost_ landed him in a pan of dish-water!

In the midst of his caperings there was a knock at the door.

It was Mr. and Mrs. White-Mouse, old friends of the Meadow-Mice, who had come to make a friendly call. Grasshopper Green had never seen any White-Mice before, and he thought them very beautiful and aristocratic with their pale complexions, ruby-colored eyes and long pinky tails. (For White-Mice _do_ look that way, you know).

He learned later that they belonged to a little boy living in a near-by farm house.[1]

[Footnote 1: This boy didn't keep the White-Mice in a cage but in a fine little house with stairs like a very perfect doll's house. His father helped him make it. These White-Mice were treated so kindly that they never wanted to run away, though now and then they would go to visit friends.]

Rap, tap, tap!--more guests arrived: three dainty little roadside Fairies with these funny names, Sun-Flower-Seed, Thistle-Whistle, and Ragged Sailor. (Fairies and Mice are usually very good friends; in fact, Great-Grandfather Goodheart says--but I'll tell you about that some other time.)

Grasshopper Green had met Ragged Sailor before. He was quite a musician and carried his tiny golden accordion in the sailor blouse he always wore.

It wasn't long before Grasshopper Green had his tiny fiddle tuned up, and Ragged Sailor got out his accordion. Then they started to play the liveliest little tunes you ever heard.

The rest of the party pushed the chairs and table back against the wall, to make room for dancing and then--Bless your heart! _What_ a good time they all had. I sometimes wish that I were small enough to dance with a Fairy or a Mouse. Don't _you_?

First they played the Pansy Petal Polka--a great favorite with the Fairies; then the Dragon Fly Dance and the Wheatfield Gavotte.[2]

[Footnote 2: This is a very simple but beautiful little dance in which all the dancers stand in a circle and sway like wheat-blades when the gentle west wind passes over the field.]

They danced everything they could think of, from the ridiculous Caterpillar Crawl to the lovely Moon-Moth Minuet, ending up with the Grasshopper Hornpipe. In this dance, the object was to see which dancer could leap the highest and crack his heels together oftenest before he touched the floor.

Sunflower Seed did this the best of all, for she had a pair of beautiful striped wings, like a butterfly's, which enabled her to stay in the air as long as she pleased.

The Meadow-Mouse Children, who had gone to bed soon after the company came, were awakened by the noise of the Grasshopper Hornpipe, which was the most boisterous of all the dances.

Everybody was in such good humor that the little Meadow-Mice were allowed to stay up and come in, to join the fun.

Dancing so much had made everyone hungry; so Father Meadow-Mouse got the corn popper and they popped, and popped, and popped, and ate, and ate, and ate! I don't dare to tell you how much they ate. Especially the four youngsters. The Fairies, too, seemed very fond of the popcorn.

"It's such a nice change from rose pollen and honeysuckle juice," Thistle-Whistle remarked.

Well, finally, Mr. White-Mouse said, "We must really be going now, for it's getting very late."

"And so must we," said the Fairies, and that pleasant evening came to an end.

This, though, was only one of the many merry gatherings at the home of the Meadow-Mice.

Even when no friends dropped in they had fine cosy evenings.

Sometimes they would all play games, sometimes Father Meadow-Mouse would tell one of his entertaining stories, and sometimes Mrs. Meadow-Mouse would sing while Grasshopper Green accompanied her on his fiddle. Here's the chorus of one of her quaint little songs:

Although, during the winter, Grasshopper Green hardly ever dared to go outdoors on account of the cold, which of course is very dangerous to Grasshoppers, he had such happy times with his new friends that the months passed very quickly.

Early one Saturday morning--it must have been about the end of February--Father Meadow-Mouse looked out of the window and saw that there had been quite a thaw during the night.

"Mother Meadow-Mouse," said he, "it is much warmer this morning, and I think the ice that filled up that hole under Farmer Green's corn-crib must be melted away. Now our larder is nearly empty; so you and I'd better go over there right away and get some corn before the squirrels wake up."

So Mother Meadow-Mouse put on her little dark blue shawl, and Father Meadow-Mouse put on his little bright red muffler, and, taking two sacks with them, they started off to get the corn.

Grasshopper Green stayed home with the children (the day being Saturday, they didn't have to go to school), for in spite of the thaw the weather was still too cold for him to safely venture out.

"Now, children," said Grasshopper Green, "we'll wash the breakfast dishes, and sweep and dust the room, and make everything spic and span to surprise your Mother and Father when they come back."

So Long-Tail, Sharp-Eyes, Pink-Ears and Mouseykins all put on funny little blue aprons and fell to work, and in a very short time the dishes were all washed and dried and the room was as neat as a new pin.

When all the work was done, Grasshopper Green got out his fiddle and said that it was time for a dancing lesson.

Oh, how the little Meadow-Mouse Children enjoyed dancing lessons! Of course they couldn't equal the wonderful twirling leaps of their teacher, Grasshopper Green, but they did very well, and you should have seen how gracefully they waved their tails; and that was something that Grasshopper Green couldn't do--for the reason, of course, that he hadn't any tail to wave.

The first part of the lesson was over, and Grasshopper Green was just starting to re-tune his little fiddle, when they heard a creaking sound--as if someone were cautiously trying to push open the front door, which was bolted on the inside.

Long-Tail, who happened to be standing near the little window, peeped out to see who was there, then suddenly jumped back and dived into the corner cupboard, squeaking in a trembly voice, "It's Mouser!"

Now "Mouser" was Farmer Green's big, yellow-eyed, black cat!

Father Meadow-Mouse had once said to Grasshopper Green, "Our home is so far away from the farmhouse and barn and is so well disguised that there is really no danger of that terrible Mouser ever finding it." But here he was at last!

Mouser, no doubt, had heard--perhaps the weasel who lived near-by had told him--that Father and Mother Meadow-Mouse had both gone out that morning, leaving the children alone.

He probably did not know that Grasshopper Green was there with the little Meadow-Mice, though, of course, even if he had, he wouldn't have thought anything of it. And what, indeed, could a little Grasshopper do against a big cat?

There was only one thing he could do, Grasshopper Green decided, and that was to go for help without a moment's delay. Now Grasshopper Green knew that Thistle-Whistle, the Fairy, lived with some rabbits in a rabbit-hole among the briars not far away, and he was sure that Thistle-Whistle, who was quite a powerful Fairy, could in some way drive off Mouser and rescue the little Meadow-Mice.

So, not even stopping to put on a muffler, he raised the window very quietly and hopped out.

Mouser was intent on trying to open the door by clawing and pushing, and didn't notice the window at all.

Then you should have seen Grasshopper Green's tremendous leaps! You may be sure he went faster than any Grasshopper had ever hopped before. Warmed by his excitement and exertions, he didn't feel the cold a bit.

He soon reached the rabbit-hole. Alas! The Fairy was not there. As Grasshopper Green turned to go, he spied a small chest standing near the door. At the sight of this a brilliant idea immediately popped into his head!

Now listen! In that chest were some tiny black pellets, about the size of mustard seeds.[3]

[Footnote 3: Thistle-Whistle and Grasshopper Green had become great friends that winter and the Fairy had told Grasshopper Green about these Magic Pellets; you swallowed one of them and then wished yourself any size you wished to be--as small as a Flea or as big as an Elephant, or any size in between.]

Snatching up two or three of the magic seeds, he jumped out of the hole and hopped back to the hollow apple tree even faster than he had come. He got in by way of the little window and immediately swallowed one of the pellets, then wished himself as large as a bull-dog!

It was fortunate for him that he didn't choose any larger size than that, for as it was, his head just bumped the ceiling.

Not more than two seconds after Grasshopper Green had changed his size, Mouser managed to burst open the door!

At the sight that met his eyes, the Cat was nearly paralyzed with surprise. And no wonder.

Although a Grasshopper is usually a very good natured little fellow he has a really terrifying face, but we don't notice it because he's so small.

Look very closely at one sometime and then try to imagine what a strange looking monster he would be if he were as big as a dog!

Great-Grandfather Goodheart said, when he told me the story, that Mouser never stopped running until he got to the next village, five miles away, and that he shrieked out to every animal he passed on the way that he had seen a dragon!

At any rate, he was never seen about Farmer Green's place again. And that certainly was a great relief to all the Meadow-Mice, I can tell you.

As soon as Mouser had disappeared in the distance, Grasshopper Green swallowed another pellet and wished himself back to his usual size. Then he called to the Meadow-Mouse children to come out of their hiding places and told them the good news. For Long-Tail and Sharp-Eyes had been squeezed in the cupboard and Pink-Ears and Mouseykins under the bed all this time.

Pretty soon Father and Mother Meadow-Mouse returned with their sacks full of corn.

When they heard that Mouser had been so frightened that he would probably never come back to worry them, you can guess how happy they were and how they capered about.

They sent out invitations right away for a fine big party in honor of Grasshopper Green, who was, of course, the hero of the hour.

MAKE YOUR CHILDREN HAPPY WITH

ALGONQUIN "SUNNY BOOKS"

It is the Algonquin ideal that books should make children happy and build character unconsciously and should contain nothing to cause fright, suggest fear, glorify mischief, excuse malice or condone cruelty.

The six books in the present series of Sunny Books are:

101 _Little Slam Bang_

An elephant child and his jungle friends meet a hungry tiger.

The jolly adventures of an Irish potato.

The jolly story in rhyme of a baby and a bear who have a sticky party.

104 _Grasshopper Green and the Meadow Mice_

About the things that happen down in the grass.

105 _The Dinky Ducklings_

Two ducks go visiting, with lots of happenings on the way.

Nina Wilcox Putnam tells about Sunny Bunny and his ten children, who have to find a new home.

ALGONQUIN PUBLISHING COMPANY NEW YORK