mouse by far", then he ran outside to play with his brothers and sisters until one of them was eaten by a cat, and after that he stayed inside for the rest of the day.

"Why do cats eat mice?" he asked his mother.

"They never tell us," she said.

The days went by, and the baby mice turned into big, fat, country mice, and the season changed from summer to autumn. Potato was becoming more and more independent now. He would go away all day sometimes, just exploring the farm.

His favorite places were where the other animals lived. He always found something to eat in the cowshed, and there was always a bit of bread, or oatmeal, or some kitchen scraps beside the pig's trough. The hen-house was a treasure trove of scattered wheat, and the farmer's wife kept a very tasty compost heap going, just for the birds and the mice and some rather ugly insects. The only dangers Potato could find were the two cats and the horrible little terrier, which always dug holes and ran after him, barking.

One day, while Potato was out and about, he noticed a big truck in the driveway of the farmer's house. It wasn't difficult not to notice the truck because it was as high and as long, but not as wide, as the house it was parked beside. The farmer and two other men were going in and out of the house, carrying boxes and chairs and all sorts of other things which mice have no names for, and the farmer's wife was going about collecting pot plants and other things from the garden.

Potato crept nearer to get a closer look.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, (which is how mice see things), a cat sprang straight towards Potato's tail. He jumped into the grass and ran as fast as he could to the wheel of the truck. The cat went one way and Potato went the other.

And now things got even worse. The terrier came barking! The cat hissed at the terrier and ran away, and the terrier chased it up a tree, then it came running back to catch Potato, so Potato galloped up the ramp and into the truck and found a hole in something, and into it he scampered before the sharp, white teeth of the terrier could nip anything off his backside.

"Come out of there!" the farmer shouted, "What's he after?"

"I saw a mouse go in there!"

"Get out of it dog!"