Holes in this house

I have had this piece at least twenty years. I sit it on the edge of the shelf because there is a "lip" that allows it to overhang. It seems like it was made for displaying this way. I would like to know if this was purely decorative but it seems utilitarian as it has many deliberate holes. The front of the house has a large and round hole, there are very small holes in back and on top and on the base of the house near the back (4 total) and the base of the house has a large hole with an odd shape. Also, the windows on the sides are open (so I do not believe it is a salt/ pepper shaker). Is this a pie funnel? Is the lip made to overhang a shelf when displaying or does it serve another function as well? Why is the bottom shaped like that? There is a slight possibility this was picked up in France, but otherwise USA. Chipping in back corner of roof seems to reveal this is stoneware. There are no marks. Inside I now see there is an area deliberately "built up" inside and across from the hole in the front of the house where someone very intentionally formed clay inside that may have held something like a stick that would then come out of the hole in front (like a perch). Now I am even more confused. Thanks!