As soon as he was inside the ring he turned into a little mouse,
and made friends with the family of mice that lived in a hole under
the grass; and the mother mouse promised to help him all she could.
They had not waited long when the basket came dropping down out of
the sky. The eldest sister put her head over the edge, and looked all
around, north and west and south and east and down on the ground.
"There is no man here," she said, "and I do not see any gopher; but
you must be very careful."
So they all got out of the basket, and began to dance round the ring,
drumming and singing as they went. But when they came near the mouse's
nest the eldest sister held up her hand, and they stopped dancing and
held their breath. Then she tapped on the ground and listened.
"It does not sound so hollow as it did," she said, "The mice have a
visitor."
And she tapped again, and called out, "Come and show yourselves, you
little traitors, or we will dig you up!"
But the mother mouse had made another door to her nest, just outside
the ring, working very fast with all her toes; and while the maidens
were looking for her inside the ring she came out at the other door
with all her children and scampered away across the prairie.
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