What the Second Mouse Had to Tell"I was born in the library, at a castle," said the second
mouse. "Very few members of our family ever had the good fortune to
get into the dining-room, much less the store-room. On my journey,
and here to-day, are the only times I have ever seen a kitchen. We
were often obliged to suffer hunger in the library, but then we
gained a great deal of knowledge. The rumor reached us of the royal
prize offered to those who should be able to make soup from a
sausage skewer. Then my old grandmother sought out a manuscript
which, however, she could not read, but had heard it read, and in
it was written, 'Those who are poets can make soup of sausage
skewers.' She then asked me if I was a poet. I felt myself quite
innocent of any such pretensions. Then she sa
