The Little Gray Mouse Review

The following story is true. We lived on a farm where we had chickens, goats, sheep,and  rabbits and a big garden. I have always thought of myself as a caretaker of the animals. This little gray mouse tought me humility.

THE LITTLE GRAY MOUSE

A true story

A cold wet winter evening found me in the kitchen of our old farmhouse preparing our evening meal. Hubby and the kids were  in the living room watching TV.  A nice warm fire in the wood heater kept the house cozy and warm from the raging storm that roared out side.

All winter I had been chasing this feisty little gray mouse, trying to catch it. The mouse left his tell, tell signs all over my kitchen, letting me know that once again he had escaped the traps I had set.

Living on a farm I expected to find mice but they needed to stay out of the house; after all we had a huge dry barn with plenty of straw, chicken scratch and other animal feed, no need for them to be in the house.

I had used the last of my cheese to bate the three traps I had and was sure I would catch the mouse this time. SNAP! Went one of the traps

"I got you this time" I whaled, as I hurried to where I had set the trap...

As I starred at the empty trap "you little bugger, you did it again," I was thinking. All at once, I became aware of a great commotion coming from the living room. I hurried in to see hubby and the kids running around in the living room.

"What's going on in here?" "That mouse tripped another trap." I said, exasperated by the fact that the mouse had out smarted me again.

The mouse had run into the living room where the kids and hubby were watching TV. Hubby jumped up and began chasing the mouse, behind the couch, under the chair out past the table the little mouse ran. Finally, hubby caught him by the tail...

In a great struggle to escape hubby's grip the mouse flew threw the air; landing on the hearth of the wood heater. Crying, the little mouse crawled off the hearth and lay on the floor.

"Mama, Mama, he is burnt!" "You must help him," cried the twins.

"How can I help him?" I answered. I must admit I was trying to catch that mouse in a trap, but at the same time, I did not want him to suffer.

"Go get me some ice and bring me my sewing box." I said. In my sewing box, I found a piece of flannel. I picked the little mouse up and wrapped the flannel around him. I put some ice on his hind leg to ease the pain of the burn.

"Now what mama, Will he be ok, is he going to die?" asked the twins.

"I don't know, he might,  we will have to wait and see." I answered.

I laid the little mouse by the heater to keep him warm. He stayed wrapped in the flannel all night. The next morning he seemed to be stronger.

"What are we going to feed him mama?" Albert asked.

"We have some dried bread; we can crumble some up and see if he will eat." I said.

Later that evening the little mouse moved from the flannel to an opening in the bricks that the heater set on.

The kids left breadcrumbs, some wheat and kernels of corn for him to eat. Each day they would check to see if he was still under the heater.

The little mouse lived under the heater the rest of the winter. That was the end of me trying to catch the little gray mouse.