David Purcell,, age 12, of Ottawa, Ont., for his question:

What is a deer mouse?

This little darling is also called the wood mouse, because we find him scurrying through the woods. He is called the gopher mouse, because he may make his home in the den of a gopher turtle. He is called the vesper mouse, because he comes forth in the evening. He is called the deer mouse because his soft fur is the color of a deer. You may know him as the white footed mouse. He is a frisky little fellow and mouse watchers claim to have heard him humming to himself as he drums with his little front paws on a dry log.