The Story Teller -- The Mouse's Tale
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I'm a small, brown Missouri mouse. I live at 219 North
Delaware. This is a mouse's dream home. It is old and big
with thick walls for climbing. The family that lives here
has a little girl named Margie. Margie practices on the
piano every day. She is just learning and really, she needs
to practice. Even my ears hurt when she hits the wrong key
on the piano. Those high ceilings and my two mouse holes
make the intended music easy to hear.
My favorite hole was by the heat vent in the wall near the floor. There was a large space that I could squeeze through. My other entrance was behind a large cabinet in the dining room. No one ever moved it, I guess because it was so big and heavy. Every day, I suffered as Margie practiced playing the piano. She made a lot of mistakes. |
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One chilly night, I remember especially well. The mother, Bess, had gone to play cards with friends for the evening. Margie and her daddy were in the parlor reading a story about a family of bears. I could hear them from the kitchen. Earlier that morning, the smell of burned toast filled me with anticipation of a treat. It was now dark and I knew where the toast was thrown away. I was happily chomping away, when suddenly the kitchen was filled with light and I saw two heads looking at me from around the door casing. I quickly scampered down and hid behind the stove.
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It was embarrassing to be discovered. I had tried to be so careful. A mouse in the house is best kept a secret,
especially if you are the mouse. I guess eating burned
toast makes noise. I heard Margie's daddy say, "A mouse,
now where is that trap!" I certainly did not know what a
trap was or where they kept it, so I kept quiet.
They rummaged around the kitchen for awhile. Then they left me in the darkness again. I was thinking about going back to my crunchie toast when I smelled something most wonderful. It was peanut butter. "Hmmm. I wonder why they put it on a piece of wood? It is strange looking, with wire around half of it." I moseyed up and took a big bite . . . and just like that, I was caught. I tried to leave but I could not. Margie and her daddy came running and her daddy said, "Good, we caught the mouse!" But Margie said, with big tears in her eyes, "Daddy, I think he wants his head out." Daddy looked at his little girl in amazement then said kindly, "You're right, Margie," and he took me outside and released me. |
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