For there was a great, big, ugly, cruel boy, and he had something in his
hand. At first Bawly couldn’t tell what it was, and then, to his
surprise, he saw that the boy had caught Jollie Longtail, the nice
little mousie boy, about whom I once told you.

“Ah ha! Now I have you!” cried the boy to the mouse. “You went in the
feed box in my father’s barn, and I have caught you.”

“Oh, but I only took the least bit of corn,” said Jollie Longtail. But
the boy didn’t understand the mouse language, though Bawly did.

“I’m going to tie your tail in a knot, hang you over the clothes line
and then throw stones at you!” went on the cruel boy. “That will teach
you to keep away from our place. We don’t like mice.”

Well, poor Jollie Longtail shivered and shook, and tried to get away
from that boy, but he couldn’t, and then the boy began tying a knot in
the mousie’s tail, so he could fasten Jollie to the clothes line in the
yard.

“Oh, this is terrible!” cried Bawly, and he forgot all about the ball
that was lying in the grass close beside him. “How sorry I am for poor
Jollie,” thought Bawly.

“There’s one knot!” cried the boy as he made it. “Now for another!”

Poor Jollie squirmed and wiggled, but he couldn’t get away.

“Now for the last knot, and then I’ll tie you on the clothes line,”
spoke the boy, twisting Jollie’s tail very hard.