I looked about for some time, peeping into every hole and corner before I could find any thing to eat, there being not so much as a candle in the room with them. At last I crept into a little leathern trunk, which stood on a table, not shut down quite close: here I instantly smelt something good: but was obliged to gnaw through a great deal of linen to get at it; it was wrapped up in a lap-bag, amongst a vast quantity of work. However, I made my way through half a hundred folds, and at last was amply repaid, by finding out a nice piece of plum-cake, and the pips of an apple, which I could easily get at, one half of it having been eat away.
Whilst I was thus engaged I heard a cat mew, and not knowing how near she might be, I endeavoured to jump out; but in the hurry Isomehow or other entangled myself in the muslin, and pulled that, trunk and all, down with me; for the trunk stood half off the table, so that the least touch in the world overset it, otherwise my weight could never have tumbled it down.
The noise of the fall, however, waked the children, and I heard one say to the other,--'Bless me! Mary, what is that noise?--What can it be? I am almost frightened out of my wits; do, pray, sister, hug me close!' 'Pooh!' replied the other, 'never mind it!
What in the world need you be frightened at? What do you suppose will hurt you? It sounded as if something fell down; but as it has not fallen upon us, and I do not hear anybody stirring, or speaking as if they were hurt, what need we care about it? So pray, Nancy, let us go to sleep again; for as yet I have not had half sufficient, I am sure; I hope morning is not coming yet, for I am not at all ready to get up.' 'I am sure,' answered the other, 'I wish it was morning, and daylight now, for I should like to get up vastly, I do not like to lay here in the dark any longer; I have a great mind to ring the bell, and then mamma or somebody will come to us with a candle.' 'And what in the world,' rejoined Mary, 'will be the use of that? Do you want a candle to light you to look for the wounds the noise has given you; or what can you wish to disturb my mamma for? Come, let me cuddle you, and do go to sleep, child, for I cannot think what occasion there is for us to keep awake because we heard a noise; I never knew that noise had teeth or claws to hurt one with; and I am sure this has not hurt me; and so, whether you choose to lie awake or not, Iwill go to sleep, and so good-bye to you, and pray do not disturb me any more, for I cannot talk any longer.' 'But, Mary,' again replied the other, 'pray do not go to sleep yet, I want to speak to you.' 'Well, what do you want to say?' inquired Mary. 'Why, pray have you not very often,' said Nancy, 'heard of thieves breaking into people's houses and robbing them; and I am sadly afraid that noise was some rogues coming in; so pray, Mary, do not go to sleep, I am in such a fright and tremble you cannot think.
Speak, Mary, have not you, I say, heard of thieves?' 'Yes,' replied Mary, in a very sleepy voice, 'a great many times.'
'Well, then, pray sister, do not go to sleep,' said Nancy, in a peevish accent, 'suppose, I say that noise I heard should be thieves, what should we do? What will become of us? O! what shall we do?'--'Why, go to sleep, I tell you,' said Mary, 'as fast as you can; at least, do pray let me, for I cannot say I am in the smallest fear about house-breakers or house-makers either; and of all the robberies I ever heard of in all my life, I never heard of thieves stealing little girls; so do, there's a dear girl, go to sleep again, and do not so foolishly frighten yourself out of your wits for nothing.' 'Well,' replied Nancy, 'I will not keep you awake any longer; but I am sure I shall not be able to get another wink of sleep all night.'
Here the conversation ended, and I could not help thinking how foolish it was for people to permit themselves to be terrified for nothing. Here is a little girl, now, thought I, in a nice clean room, and covered up warm in bed, with pretty green curtains drawn round her, to keep the wind from her head, and the light in the morning from her eyes; and yet she is distressing herself, and making herself really uncomfortable, and unhappy, only because I, a poor, little, harmless mouse, with scarcely strength sufficient to gnaw a nutshell, happened to jump from the table, and throw down, perhaps, her own box.--Oh! what a pity it is that people should so destroy their own comfort! How sweetly might this child have passed the night, if she had but, like her sister, wisely reflected that a noise could not possibly hurt them; and that, had any of the family occasioned it, by falling down, or running against anything in the dark which hurt them, most likely they would have heard some more stirring about.
