The house was dark and quiet, and only the the steady ticking of the clock peacefully spoke into the silence of the night. Every member of the family was sleeping soundly, in preparation for the day ahead of them, and rest from the one before. But a small shadow moving quickly and quietly in a corner belonged to a little creature whose work was already well under way.
A little mouse cautiously scurried this way and that way, in search of something to eat. She was an unusually long way from her home in the shed behind the chicken coop. She didn't normally like to stray more than fifty feet from her nest, but her current circumstances demanded it.
She had chosen the shed as a place to make her home because it was dry, warm, and she had regular access to the grain stored there. Also, by using the straw and feathers from the chicken coop next door, she had been able to provide a warm, soft nest for her brand new litter of pups. It was such an ideal location for a brand new family of mice, that the little mother hadn't needed to leave her nest at all for more than two minutes at a time.
But for one reason or another, she couldn't seem to get to the grain lately. The little boy who fed the chickens usually left the bags open and on the ground; but now, for some odd reason, he had poured the grain into sturdy rubber buckets and moved them high up on a shelf. The mouse had tried all night last night to get at them, and failed.
She did have quite a storehouse of food saved up, but it didn't seem right for her to eat ALL the food she'd been saving. She needed that food for the upcoming winter. The leaves outside were already changing, and her instincts told her to save as much as she could of everything she found.
So she decided to cautiously attempt to raid the kitchen. She had been there before, and knew the general locations of the best food in the pantry, but it was still a risky thing to do. One of the people in the house might wake up and see her and the cat might hear her. But she was so hungry, she had to try it.
Now she scurried across the kitchen floor, sniffing, and often pausing to look up and think where to go next. She didn't have very good eyesight, but by following her keen sense of smell, and dragging her sensitive whiskers across the floor, she could find her way perfectly.
Keeping close to the base of the wall, she headed straight for the pantry. There she sniffed around carefully until she came across a few pieces of cheerios laying on the ground. she stopped, and stood up on her haunches. She took one last look around in all directions to be sure that she was alone. Then she crouched back down, picked up a cheerio and proceeded to nibble it away very fast. She actually looked rather cute sitting there, munching on the discovered cheerio, but no one was awake to see her, and it's probably good for her that they weren't.
She ate until she'd had her fill, and then stuffed the last cheerio in her mouth so she could have something to bring back to her own little pantry. Taking a few, tentative little steps forward, she sniffed the air. All clear. She scurried away.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Saturday, October 4, 2008
~~The day dawned softly as sunlight slowly filtered through the trees, sparkling delicately till it reached the leaf laden forest floor. It added lovely shades of purple and pink to the gold of autumn splendor. The trees murmured their contentment by slowly rocking back and forth and peacefully whispering things only trees understand. The birds flitted amongst them, cheerfully welcoming the cool morning breeze and filling the air with their ever varying songs of joy
~~Such was the morning this forest was blessed with, and such was the morning a lazy dog was missing. But he didn't mind. The early bird may get the worm, but the early dog has only longer to wait for his breakfast. Unconcerned, he lay curled up tightly in a ball, under a widespread and low-hanging evergreen branch, comfortably nestled in a shallow hole he had expertly furnished for himself the evening before. His slumber, however, was interrupted by a strange scurrying sound next to his ear. He lazily tried to block it out by covering his ear with his paw, but the scurrying and shuffling refused to be ignored. Slightly annoyed, the dog opened one eye to see what all the fuss was about. He barely caught sight of the little offender disappearing under a pile of leaves.
~~Nothing entices a dog more than the sight of a rapidly retreating animal, and this dog was no exception. He leaped to his feet, instantly awake and keenly intent on the pile. A leaf rustled, and the dog dove in, vigorously digging through the golden brown pile of leaves, searching everywhere for the small creature who had dared arouse him from his precious sleep. At last he removed a large leaf and discovered a small mouse with her mouth full of bread. She darted for cover under another leaf, and the dog pounced again. Slowly warming to this new game, the dog chased the mouse from leaf to leaf, and bush to bush, until they had traveled some distance from the place where it had originally started. The mouse seemed to take full advantage of her size and frustrated the dog by continuously darting through thick vines and scurrying rapidly from one place to another, so that the dog was forced to keep turning in circles in an effort to keep up. Every time the dog tried to pounce on the rodent, his paws proved empty upon removing them. Briefly glancing upward, he suddenly recognized where they were headed. The trees had opened into a clearing, and his master’s chicken coop was only ten strides away. If the mouse made it through the chicken wire, she would be safe, and the dog would have to leave her alone.
~~With new determination he dove into a bush after her, but jumped back startled and whimpering when he met sharp thorns full in the face. One branch refused to let go, and he realized painfully, that one of the long thorns must have lodged itself into his nose. Humiliated, he held his head as still as he could, and looked as far as possible to his right. He saw the mouse making her way rapidly toward the coop. frantically the dog wrenched his face free and yelped as the thorns tore deep scratches in his nose as they released him. He rushed at the chicken coop as fast as his lanky legs would take him, and reached the fence just as the mouse slipped through it. The dog sighed, but barked furiously three times, as if to say, "and don't you ever come back!"
~~Of course the chickens woke up, and they squawked and flapped wildly in an effort to escape the dog's wrath. But the dog had no intention of hurting them. This was his master's coop, and his master's chickens. It was his job to protect them, not to hurt them. However, if they were slightly flustered, it was none of his concern, and he seemed to grin as he thought of the lesson he must have taught to that ornery mouse.
~~A strange smell filled his nostrils, but before he could examine it, a shrill whistle pierced the air, and the dog snapped to attention with his ears high and alert. A boy's voice called to him, and the dog's lips widened into a slobbery smile and he bounded in the direction of his master. Bursting through the underbrush, he spotted his beloved boy across the neatly mowed lawn, standing on the long white porch of his Victorian styled house. In his hands he held a coffee can, and the dog knew it held his kibble.
~~The boy laughed as he descended the two steps to the dew covered grass and watched the dog as he barked and sped across the front yard toward him. Bending down, the boy filled the dog's dish with food. The sound of kibble clanking on the inside of the metal bowl excited the dog, and his tail seemed ready to fly off its hinges! But at last he was eagerly gobbling down his breakfast while his master sat patting him, and spoke to him in very confiding tones. Of course the dog couldn't understand exactly what his master was saying, but he could tell by his voice that something was supposed to happen today. He didn't know if that was good or bad.
~~
~~Such was the morning this forest was blessed with, and such was the morning a lazy dog was missing. But he didn't mind. The early bird may get the worm, but the early dog has only longer to wait for his breakfast. Unconcerned, he lay curled up tightly in a ball, under a widespread and low-hanging evergreen branch, comfortably nestled in a shallow hole he had expertly furnished for himself the evening before. His slumber, however, was interrupted by a strange scurrying sound next to his ear. He lazily tried to block it out by covering his ear with his paw, but the scurrying and shuffling refused to be ignored. Slightly annoyed, the dog opened one eye to see what all the fuss was about. He barely caught sight of the little offender disappearing under a pile of leaves.
~~Nothing entices a dog more than the sight of a rapidly retreating animal, and this dog was no exception. He leaped to his feet, instantly awake and keenly intent on the pile. A leaf rustled, and the dog dove in, vigorously digging through the golden brown pile of leaves, searching everywhere for the small creature who had dared arouse him from his precious sleep. At last he removed a large leaf and discovered a small mouse with her mouth full of bread. She darted for cover under another leaf, and the dog pounced again. Slowly warming to this new game, the dog chased the mouse from leaf to leaf, and bush to bush, until they had traveled some distance from the place where it had originally started. The mouse seemed to take full advantage of her size and frustrated the dog by continuously darting through thick vines and scurrying rapidly from one place to another, so that the dog was forced to keep turning in circles in an effort to keep up. Every time the dog tried to pounce on the rodent, his paws proved empty upon removing them. Briefly glancing upward, he suddenly recognized where they were headed. The trees had opened into a clearing, and his master’s chicken coop was only ten strides away. If the mouse made it through the chicken wire, she would be safe, and the dog would have to leave her alone.
~~With new determination he dove into a bush after her, but jumped back startled and whimpering when he met sharp thorns full in the face. One branch refused to let go, and he realized painfully, that one of the long thorns must have lodged itself into his nose. Humiliated, he held his head as still as he could, and looked as far as possible to his right. He saw the mouse making her way rapidly toward the coop. frantically the dog wrenched his face free and yelped as the thorns tore deep scratches in his nose as they released him. He rushed at the chicken coop as fast as his lanky legs would take him, and reached the fence just as the mouse slipped through it. The dog sighed, but barked furiously three times, as if to say, "and don't you ever come back!"
~~Of course the chickens woke up, and they squawked and flapped wildly in an effort to escape the dog's wrath. But the dog had no intention of hurting them. This was his master's coop, and his master's chickens. It was his job to protect them, not to hurt them. However, if they were slightly flustered, it was none of his concern, and he seemed to grin as he thought of the lesson he must have taught to that ornery mouse.
~~A strange smell filled his nostrils, but before he could examine it, a shrill whistle pierced the air, and the dog snapped to attention with his ears high and alert. A boy's voice called to him, and the dog's lips widened into a slobbery smile and he bounded in the direction of his master. Bursting through the underbrush, he spotted his beloved boy across the neatly mowed lawn, standing on the long white porch of his Victorian styled house. In his hands he held a coffee can, and the dog knew it held his kibble.
~~The boy laughed as he descended the two steps to the dew covered grass and watched the dog as he barked and sped across the front yard toward him. Bending down, the boy filled the dog's dish with food. The sound of kibble clanking on the inside of the metal bowl excited the dog, and his tail seemed ready to fly off its hinges! But at last he was eagerly gobbling down his breakfast while his master sat patting him, and spoke to him in very confiding tones. Of course the dog couldn't understand exactly what his master was saying, but he could tell by his voice that something was supposed to happen today. He didn't know if that was good or bad.
~~
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