Whitefoot the Wood Mouse | Page 2

of Whitefoot, and they wouldn't have been able to get in if they
had. When rough Brother North Wind howled outside, and sleet and
snow were making other little people shiver, Whitefoot was warm and
comfortable. There was all the room he needed or wanted in which to

run about and play. He could go outside when he chose to, but he didn't
choose to very often. For days at a time he didn't have a single fright.
Yes indeed, Whitefoot spent a happy winter.

CHAPTER II
: Whitefoot Sees Queer Things
Whitefoot had spent the winter undisturbed in Farmer Brown's
sugar-house. He had almost forgotten the meaning of fear. He had
come to look on that sugar-house as belonging to him. It wasn't until
Farmer Brown's boy came over to prepare things for sugaring that
Whitefoot got a single real fright. The instant Farmer Brown's boy
opened the door, Whitefoot scampered down under the pile of wood to
his snug little nest, and there he lay, listening to the strange sounds. At
last he could stand it no longer and crept to a place where he could peep
out and see what was going on. It didn't take him long to discover that
this great two-legged creature was not looking for him, and right away
he felt better. After a while Farmer Brown's boy went away, and
Whitefoot had the little sugar-house to himself again.
But Farmer Brown's boy had carelessly left the door wide open.
Whitefoot didn't like that open door. It made him nervous. There was
nothing to prevent those who hunt him from walking right in. So the
rest of that night Whitefoot felt uncomfortable and anxious.
He felt still more anxious when next day Farmer Brown's boy returned
and became very busy putting things to right. Then Farmer Brown
himself came and strange things began to happen. It became as warm as
in summer. You see Farmer Brown had built a fire under the evaporator.
Whitefoot's curiosity kept him at a place where he could peep out and
watch all that was done. He saw Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's
boy pour pails of sap into a great pan. By and by a delicious odor filled
the sugar-house. It didn't take him a great while to discover that these
two-legged creatures were so busy that he had nothing to fear from
them, and so he crept out to watch. He saw them draw the golden syrup
from one end of the evaporator and fill shining tin cans with it. Day
after day they did the same thing. At night when they had left and all
was quiet inside the sugar-house, Whitefoot stole out and found
delicious crumbs where they had eaten their lunch. He tasted that thick

golden stuff and found it sweet and good. Later he watched them make
sugar and nearly made himself sick that night when they had gone
home, for they had left some of that sugar where he could get at it. He
didn't understand these queer doings at all. But he was no longer afraid.

CHAPTER III
: Farmer Brown's Boy Becomes Acquainted
It didn't take Farmer Brown's boy long to discover that Whitefoot the
Wood Mouse was living in the little sugar-house. He caught glimpses
of Whitefoot peeping out at him. Now Farmer Brown's boy is wise in
the ways of the little people of the Green Forest. Right away he made
up his mind to get acquainted with Whitefoot. He knew that not in all
the Green Forest is there a more timid little fellow than Whitefoot, and
he thought it would be a fine thing to be able to win the confidence of
such a shy little chap.
So at first Farmer Brown's boy paid no attention whatever to Whitefoot.
He took care that Whitefoot shouldn't even know that he had been seen.
Every day when he ate his lunch, Farmer Brown's boy scattered a lot of
crumbs close to the pile of wood under which Whitefoot had made his
home. Then he and Farmer Brown would go out to collect sap. When
they returned not a crumb would be left.
One day Farmer Brown's boy scattered some particularly delicious
crumbs. Then, instead of going out, he sat down on a bench and kept
perfectly still. Farmer Brown and Bowser the Hound went out. Of
course Whitefoot heard them go out, and right away he poked his little
head out from under the pile of wood to see if the way was clear.
Farmer Brown's boy sat there right in plain sight, but Whitefoot didn't
see him. That was because Farmer Brown's boy didn't move the least
bit. Whitefoot ran out and at once began to eat those delicious crumbs.
When he had filled his little