The Life of a Mouse

Oh, there it is. A perfect dinner for me and my kids. This slice of holey cheese no one will miss. It lies on the rock a long ten feet away and though you may find this a shock, for me life means danger. You’re lucky; don’t talk. I look carefully around but once, twice, three times nothing in sight but a mound of hair; maybe leftovers from a hawk. The coast is clear so I pound my way over to my dinner. Cheese, cheese, glorious cheese! I’m closing in, about to claim it. Oh! But a screech causes me to freeze perfectly still from terror. And out pounces a cat with claws as sharp as a bee’s stinger. “Felicity,” it hisses. “Juicy mouse, you’re perfect for the dinner I almost missed. Come here,” it says. “I can’t resist such deliciousness.” I silently say goodbye to my kids and with a little sigh I think to myself I could never outrun this nimble cat so I’m about to die. I wait for death with my eyes squeezed shut but nothing comes and I open my eyes to see the butt of Seth, the farmer’s kid. He’s scooping up the moody cat and while he’s turned I scurry away, shivering with fear and relief from that near death of mine. What a shame. That cheese was almost mine. But surely I’ll be showered with fame from my kids, at least, for my luck that Seth came. I hurry back to my house. I’ll live to see another day. Oh, the life of a mouse!