of course everybody knows that while the cat's away the mice will play. so what happened during miss kitty cat's absence from the farmhouse was really no more than any one might have expected. there were gay banquets in mrs. green's pantry at midnight. and among those present there was no one that had a better time than fat mr. moses mouse. he was always the life of the party. he made jokes about miss snooper—as he called miss kitty cat. and nobody laughed at them harder than he.
with every night that passed, moses mouse grew still merrier. some of his companions even claimed that they could scarcely eat, he made them giggle so violently.
on the fourth night of miss kitty's absence, and at the fourth banquet, mr. mouse balanced a bit of cheese on the end of his nose, exclaiming at the same time, "what a pity it is that miss snooper isn't here! how i'd like to offer her this delicious tidbit!"
to his great surprise, none of his friends laughed.
"look out, moses!" mrs. mouse cried the next moment.
"don't worry, my dear!" said he. "i shan't lose this nice piece of cheese. if i drop it i can find it again. but i'm not going to drop it. i've practiced this trick a good many times.... it's too bad miss snooper isn't here to see it."
still nobody even snickered—though moses himself would have had he not been afraid of joggling the cheese off the end of his nose. he thought the silence very strange. and removing his eyes from the cheese, which he had been watching closely (though it made him look cross-eyed), he took a quick glance about him. everybody had vanished.
"ha!" said moses mouse to himself. "they're playing a trick on me. they're hiding." and he promptly lost his temper. much as he loved to cut capers and play tricks on others, moses never liked to have any one get a laugh on him. and now he gave a sort of snort, because he was angry.
thereupon the bit of cheese fell off moses's nose and rolled behind him on the pantry floor. he turned to get it, only to find himself face to face with miss snooper herself; for miss kitty cat was home again.
before moses mouse could jump she clapped a paw down on him. and there he was—a prisoner!
"well, well!" cried miss kitty cat. "aren't you glad to see me? you were just wishing i was here."
moses mouse didn't act glad—not the least bit! he struggled his hardest to get away. but miss kitty hadn't the slightest trouble holding him, with only one paw, too.
"now that i'm here," she said to him, "don't you want to balance that scrap of cheese on your nose once more, and offer it to me?"
since miss kitty caught him, moses mouse hadn't said anything that she could understand. he had made only a few squeaks of fright. now, however, he managed to gasp, "yes! just let me go a moment! i can't pick up the cheese while you're crushing me against the pantry floor."
