Page:Little Ellie and Other Tales (1850).djvu/27

Rh visit; and, true enough, had on fur as soft as velvet. He was very rich and very learned, the field-mouse said; and his house was more than twenty times larger than hers. As to his being learned, there was not a doubt about it; but he detested the sun and the gay flowers, and spoke of both with contempt, though he had never seen either.

Ellie was obliged to sing to him; so she sang two songs, “Fly away, lady-bird, fly away home!” and “The priest goes to the field!” Her beautiful voice so pleased the mole, that he fell in love with her; but he took good care not to show it; for he was a most sensible personage.

A short time before, he had made a long passage from his dwelling to that of his neighbor; and he now gave Ellie and the mouse permission to walk in it as often as they pleased. He begged them, at the same time, not to be frightened at the dead bird that lay at the entrance. It was, no doubt, a bird that had just died; for it had all its feathers on, and seemed to have been