Read Ebook: Beschrijving van het Rijks-Planetarium te Franeker Van 1772 tot 1780 uitgedacht en vervaardigd door Eise Eisinga by Eekhoff W Wopke Swinden Jan Hendrik Van Sannes K J Klaas Joh Illustrator

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Ebook has 699 lines and 60880 words, and 14 pages

She put a mustard-seed poultice on his chest, and gave him a little hot corn gruel, and a drop or two of honey every two hours for his hoarseness.

Grasshopper Green improved so rapidly that by the time the young mice got home from school he was well enough to get up. I forgot to tell you that Long-Tail, Sharp-Eyes, Pink-Ears and Mouseykins were taught by a wise old grey mouse whom they called "Uncle." "Uncle" lived in a nice stone house, a hole in the foundation of a ruined barn, near-by.

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!

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."

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. .

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

Rap, tap, tap!--more guests arrived: three dainty little roadside Fairies with these funny names, Sun-Flower-Seed, Thistle-Whistle, and Ragged Sailor.

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.

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

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 , 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.

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!

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