In the days that followed, Wolf, sometimes accompanied, sometimes not, sang all the songs that he’d learned, including a new one (for the weather was still fine and Mrs. Honeybee had at last taught him “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’!”).
But very often at night, when she was fast asleep in the living room, Wolf ran upstairs to practice and perfect his own composition in her bedroom.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Honeybee progressed from crutches to canes, and from two canes to one, and then she went back to the hospital to have the cast removed and to be told that her ankle had healed beautifully. She came home, walking without a cane at all, and that night she climbed the stairs to sleep in her own room.
She had said good night to the mice and had given them one chocolate each. She didn’t have the heart to go back to the old ration of one between the two of them. Mary didn’t mind. She ate hers and what Wolf couldn’t manage.
Mrs. Honeybee lay in bed, remembering her fall and how painful it had been and how the nice policeman had come climbing through the window. It was open now, the curtains drawn back so that the streetlight outside filled the room with a soft glow.
“How did the man know I was in trouble?” she said. “I can’t really recall what happened, but I thought my mouse was there, singing. No, no, I must have imagined all that.”
And then she heard a little rustling noise, which was Wolf scrambling up the curtains, and there he was, her singing mouse, sitting on the windowsill facing her. He stood up on his hind legs for a moment and dropped his head slightly, almost as though he were bowing to her, she thought. Then he began to sing his “Swallow Sonata.”
Mrs. Honeybee lay spellbound. I never taught him this, she thought, I’ve never heard this piece of music before. Never in all my concert-playing days did I hear this, and yet it must be by one of the great classical composers. How light it is, how airy, how sheerly joyful!
But how can my mouse know it? All he has learned he has learned from me. There can be only one explanation. He has composed it. It is his very own opus!
Then with a final reprise of its principal swooping, twisting, darting bird theme, the song ended, and Wolf sat silent on the sill.
“Oh, mouse!” cried Mrs. Honeybee, clapping her hands. “What a piece of work is this! You must teach it to me, mouse. Tomorrow you must sing it through to me again and again, and I will somehow force my rheumaticky old fingers to play all those lovely lilting notes. Why, Mozart could not have composed anything more entrancing, mouse. Which gives me a sudden idea, a brilliant idea if I say so myself, for a name to call you, instead of always saying ‘mouse.’ Mozart, you see, was not only the greatest of musicians, he was also the most precocious. He began to compose at a very early age, just like you. So why don’t I call you by his name?”
Wolf listened to the lady, without of course understanding a word that she said. She was pleased, though, he felt sure. She approved of his “Swallow Sonata,” and he felt glad and proud.
He saw her get out of bed and approach the window and stretch out an arm toward him very slowly.
Then with one finger Mrs. Honeybee very gently stroked him on top of his sleek brown head.
“Mozart’s name,” she said, “was Wolfgang Amadeus, so that is what I am going to call you from now on. No, wait a bit, that’s too much of a mouthful, I think. Why don’t I just call you Wolf?”
She smiled happily to herself.
“You really are a ridiculous old woman, Jane Honeybee,” she said. “Who but you would think of something so unlikely as a mouse called Wolf!”
DICK KING-SMITH was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing the children’s books that have earned him critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. King-Smith is the author of numerous books for children, including Charlie Muffin’s Miracle Mouse, Mr. Ape, The Water Horse, and Babe: The Gallant Pig, which was made into an award-winning major motion picture.
Also by Dick King-Smith
Ace: The Very Important Pig
Babe: The Gallant Pig
Harriet’s Hare
Harry’s Mad
The Invisible Dog
Martin’s Mice
A Mouse Called Wolf
The Robber Boy
The Stray
Three Terrible Trins
THE INVISIBLE DOG
by Dick King-Smith
Henry is Janie’s new dog, a magnificent Great Dane with big black spots. The only unusual thing about Henry is that Janie can’t see him. In fact, no one can—he’s invisible!
But everyone agrees that Henry makes the perfect pet. He’s always quiet and obedient. He even eats invisible food bought with invisible money! Still, Janie can’t help wishing that her pretend Great Dane was a little more real. Then a chain of mysterious events—and perhaps a touch of magic—bring the invisible Henry to life!
“King-Smith has created another irresistible yarn…that readers will love.”—Booklist
“Chock-full of warmth, zany imagination and softhearted irony…This novel will appeal to animal lovers of all ages.”—Publishers Weekly
MARTIN’S MICE
by Dick King-Smith
Martin’s not like any of the other kittens on the farm: he doesn’t eat mice. In fact, he thinks they’re adorable and keeps them as pets in an old bathtub in the loft. He visits them, feeds them, and does everything he can to protect them from his mouse-hunting family.
But Martin’s in for a shock: his mice run away! Why would they ever leave their safe bathtub? It’s not until Martin himself is imprisoned as a pet that he learns the true meaning of freedom—and friendship.
“A lively read-aloud, studded with chuckles and surprises.”—Kirkus Reviews (pointer review)
“Sparkling characterizations and laugh-out-loud dialogue add levity to a book filled with depth and emotion.…a follow-up for those who love Charlotte’s Web.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year
An American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists”
THE ROBBER BOY
by Dick King-Smith
Tod Golightly comes from a long line of highway robbers, and he’s determined to make his fortune holding up travelers on the road. Unfortunately, few wayfarers are scared of a small boy with a wooden sword and too-big boots. Then Tod is joined by a most unlikely robber band: a slow-moving donkey, a tremendous dog, a clever magpie, and a foul-smelling ferret. Together, they become an unstoppable team of thieves—until an unexpected trap lands Tod in jail. Will young Tod meet a criminal’s end? Or can his friends find help in time?
“New readers with a taste for adventure will enjoy the swashbuckling fun.”—Booklist
“A gentle, engaging story…with a winning hero.”
—The Horn Book
THREE TERRIBLE TRINS
by Dick King-Smith
The terrible trins (like twins, but three) are a fearsome lot. These three mice are about to turn things upside down at Orchard Farm—and teach the farmer’s cats who’s really boss. But outwitting bad-tempered Farmer Budge and his pesky mousetraps isn’t going to be quite so easy. It’ll take some fancy footwork—and the help of all four mouse clans—to make things safe at Orchard Farm once and for all.
“All in all, a delightful romp.”
—School Library Journal (starred review)
“A deftly written, fast-paced animal fantasy.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“King-Smith grabs the reader’s attention from his opening sentence…and the author never loosens his grip.”—Publishers Weekly
An ALA Notable Book
An IRA-CBC Children’s Choice
A Booklist Editors’ Choice
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