Gray Mouse and White Rabbit lived under the floor of the barn and were very happy. The only thing which ever bothered them was Small Dog. They hated Small Dog worse than poison.

 

“Poison always stays in one place,” said Gray Mouse, “but Small Dog is always jumping and digging. If he lives around this barn we might as well go away. Why, the other day he chased me right up to my front door, and if I had not been quick with my latch¹ key, I am afraid that he would have jostled me very rudely!”

 

Then Gray Mouse stopped talking and nearly jumped out of his skin. White Rabbit raised his ears and made his whiskers tremble. Right over their heads they heard a noise like thunder. Gray Mouse and White Rabbit ran up under the manger and peeped out. There they saw something which looked like a big barrel placed on four piano legs. It had a long pipe in front of it, four or five times bigger than the garden hose, and this big pipe was swinging backward and forward.

 

“What’s that?” asked White Rabbit, resting his paw on Gray Mouse’s arm.

 

“It looks to me,” answered Gray Mouse, “like an animal which the man has in the parlor² of his house, at least his legs look like those of that poor beast. The man’s daughter boxes the creature’s ears for two hours every morning, and although he cries and cries she will not stop.”

 

“You do not know very much,” whispered White Rabbit. “I heard the man say one morning that his little girl was pounding the piano in the parlor, and this thing is not a piano at all.”

 

Just then the creature winked³ his little eyes and made its big ears go flop⁴, flop.

 

“It seems to be alive,” said White Rabbit.

 

“Yes,” answered Gray Mouse, “and it looks a little bit like me only he is bigger than Black Horse. What a funny long nose he has! You speak to him, White Rabbit.”

 

“I’m too bashful,” replied White Rabbit, as he backed away.

 

He caught hold of Gray Mouse and pushed him right through the hole under the manger. Gray Mouse fell on the ground in front of the strange animal. One of the big beast’s feet kicked up the earth and covered up the hole out of which Gray Mouse had come. Gray Mouse was so scared that he did not know what to do. Besides he heard Small Dog snuffing at the barn door and scratching with his paws.

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