Mouse
in the House
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there were two
sisters and a brother who lived in the country. Their names were Ann., Danny,
and Jean.
Now these three did a lot of arguing and fighting among
themselves, as brothers and sisters often do; it didn’t mean they didn’t love
one another just that sometimes they made one another mad, so they would fight.
But it sure wouldn’t do for anybody else to try to pick on one of them;
because then that person would have all three people to fight.
But I’m getting away from my story; which is how the
white mouse came to live in the house!
Danny had always wanted a pet that he could keep inside
and take care of. Sure he knew there were dogs, cats, chickens and even a duck,
Quackers (which is another story), but there was nothing inside where he could
see it and feed it and hold it whenever he wanted to. He thought about how he
was going to ask Mom about this and decided the best plan was a frontal attack;
you know just go ahead and ask.
“Hey Mom,” Danny started, as Mom was fixing supper, “Do
you think I could get a mouse next time we go into town?”
“What? What are you talking about, Danny?” Mom answered.
Danny could tell this wasn’t going very well, Mom seemed
to have her mind on fixing supper, but he had already started the conversation
and was determined to get an answer. “I was asking if I could get a pet mouse.
You know a pretty white one with a pink nose. I’d take real good care of it, I
really would!” Danny told Mom.
“A mouse! Are you crazy?” Mom murmured, looking dazed,
“The last thing we need in this house is a mouse! What’s the problem son? Don’t
you have enough to do? There’s a dog that adopted a kitten, a cat that adopted
a puppy and even a crazy duck that thinks it’s a dog. All to be fed and watered
and you want a mouse!” Mom shook her head no. “I don’t think so, son. There’s
more than enough to do now.”
“But Mom,” Danny argued, “There’s nothing inside!
Something that would be just mine, something that I could hold and talk to. Oh
Mom, You know what I mean!”
Mom looked at Danny for a minute then said, “No Son, I
don’t really understand. But I sure know we don’t need a mouse. They’re nasty
creatures! But I guess we could get a bird. That’s it! A nice pretty canary! You
can teach canaries to sing, I’ve always thought they would be nice to have.”
Danny could see this was getting nowhere and he would
have to give a little more thought to how he could get a pet of his own. Maybe
he could think of something.
It was the next week in school that the opportunity of a
lifetime came along! Of course he had to say yes right away and figure out how
later. But there was just no way he could say no when the science teacher asked
if anyone could take the pet white mouse home with them. No way Jose! He
wouldn’t even wait, like the teacher wanted him to, for permission from his
parents. Danny told his teacher, “I know it will be okay. We were talking about
getting a pet mouse just last week.”
“Well, if you’re sure your parents won’t mind,” his
teacher said, “You can go on and take him today. I have a shoebox you can carry
him home in.”
Danny hugged the shoebox to his chest on the school bus
as he was riding it home after school. Every once in a while he lifted the
corner of the lid to look inside.
“What do you have in the shoebox, Danny” his nosy sister
Ann wanted to know.
“That’s for me to know and you not to find out!” he told
her as he hid the box under his bed.
“Well okay, but it sure better not be something messy,”
she told him, “or Mom will get all three of us.”
They all went outside to do their chores. They had to
feed and water all the animals, weed the garden do their homework and clean
their rooms before Mom and Dad got home from work. Otherwise there wouldn’t be
any allowance for movies, popcorn and colas or, in the summer, swimming.
“I’m thirsty,” Danny said, putting down his hoe, “I’m
going to get a drink of water.”
“Me too,” his tag-a-long sister Jean said, as Danny was
disappearing into the house. Jean went running to catch up with Danny.
“Okay, but hurry,” Ann called after her, “I don’t want to
do this all by myself. You know how I hate to hoe.”
When Danny and Jean hadn’t come back in ten minutes, Ann
threw her hoe down. “Darn you guys anyway,” she murmured to herself, “I hate
doing this kind of stuff anyway! Where are you? Guess I better go make sure
they’re not fighting. If that glass in the front door gets broken again, our
butts will be the grass and Mom will be the lawnmower!”
“But I think his name should be Pinky,” Jean was saying
as Ann slipped in the back door.
“Well, he belongs to me! And I say his name is Whitey,”
Danny yelled back.
“What’s going on now?" Ann asked, “Whose name is Pinky or
Whitey?”
“First you gotta promise you won’t tell!” Danny said.
Jean echoed, “Yeah, sis. Ya gotta promise!”
Ann sighed disgustedly, when these two ganged up on her
she just might as well promise and see what was up. She sure wouldn’t find out
until she did; and of course she had to know! You never knew when you might
miss something really exciting!
“Okay! I promise,” Ann answered, “Now, what’s up?”
“Hold out your hand, sis! You’re gonna love this!” Danny
told her.
Ann had been around too long for that one, you never knew
what Danny had in one of his pockets! Mom had found a live frog in his coat pocket
just last week. “Oh no you don’t, Danny.” She told him, “Not until I see with
my own eyes what you have!” Then when Danny showed her what he had, “Oh, he’s
beautiful! So white – look at his ears! They’re pink! Why his eyes are even
pink!”
“Yep!” Jean said, “That’s why his name should be Pinky! ‘Cause
his nose, eyes and ears are pink!”
“No, dummy,” Danny exclaimed, “Don’t you know anything?
You can’t call a boy mouse Pinky! Why that would be insulting! He’s a boy, for
goodness sake!”
Jean balled her hand into a fist, this was a sure sign
she was about to lose her cool. Jean didn’t like to see Danny and Ann fight,
but she sure waded in when she got mad!
“Hold on you guys!” Ann said, “Danny is right, sis. Think
about it, if you were a boy mouse, would you want to be called Pinky?”
“No,” Jean answered, with her head to one side, “you’re
right! He is pretty and white; I guess Whitey is a better name!”
“Yeah, it is,” Ann said, as she stroked the mouse’s pink
nose. He was so tiny and soft; but wait a minute, hadn’t she overheard Mother
telling Danny he couldn’t have a mouse? Then where had this little guy come
from!
“Danny,” Ann said softly, so she wouldn’t scare the
mouse, “Does Mom or Dad know you have him? Where did he come from?”
“Well, uh, Sis, you see,” Danny stuttered, “My science
teacher gave him to me, and I knew Mom would say okay, if she could just see
him; and –“
“But Danny,” Ann interrupted, “I thought I heard Mom tell
you there was no way you could have a mouse and now here one is! She is going
to be so mad.”
“Darn it, Ann,” Danny answered back, “I told you if Mom
can just see him she’ll love him. Maybe.”
“So when are you going to break this to her?” Ann asked
curiously, still stroking Whitey gently.
“I’ll ask her tonight, if she’s in a good mood. What do
you think she’ll say, Sis?” Dan said, as he stared at her with his big brown
and green eyes.
“I don’t know, Danny. Mom did say no.” Ann gave the mouse
back to Danny.
Danny put Whitey back in the shoebox, and then put the
shoebox back under the bed. “Well come on!” Danny said, “It’ll go better if we
have our work done!”
They all three ran back out, racing to see who got there
first. Mom and Dad would be home soon!
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