and this time the City Mouse had something new to show: he took the
little Country Mouse into a corner on the top shelf, where a big jar of
dried prunes stood open. After much tugging and pulling they got a large
dried prune out of the jar on to the shelf and began to nibble at it.
This was even better than the brown sugar. The little Country Mouse
liked the taste so much that he could hardly nibble fast enough. But all
at once, in the midst of their eating, there came a scratching at the
door and a sharp, loud _miaouw_!

"What is that?" said the Country Mouse. The City Mouse just whispered,
"Sh!" and ran as fast as he could to the hole. The Country Mouse ran
after, you may be sure, as fast as _he_ could. As soon as they were out
of danger the City Mouse said, "That was the old Cat; she is the best
mouser in town,--if she once gets you, you are lost."

"This is very terrible," said the little Country Mouse; "let us not go
back to the cupboard again."

"No," said the City Mouse, "I will take you to the cellar; there is
something specially fine there."

So the City Mouse took his little friend down the cellar stairs and into
a big cupboard where there were many shelves. On the shelves were jars
of butter, and cheeses in bags and out of bags. Overhead hung bunches of
sausages, and there were spicy apples in barrels standing about. It
smelt so good that it went to the little Country Mouse's head. He ran
along the shelf and nibbled at a cheese here, and a bit of butter there,
until he saw an especially rich, very delicious-smelling piece of cheese
on a queer little stand in a corner. He was just on the point of putting
his teeth into the cheese when the City Mouse saw him.