A story from long ago

An Evening Adventure

It was bedtime but Baby Mouse wasn't sleepy. He wanted to stay up late and have an adventure. Mamma Mouse thought hard. What could they do?

"I know," she said. "Let's go down by the path and watch the stars. There will be falling stars tonight. We can hide in the bushes and watch."

Baby Mouse thought that was a great idea. "Let's go now," he said. And he put on his jacket and little shoes and took Mamma Mouse by the hand, and so off they went.

Down by the path they found a clump of tall dry grass and snuggled in side by side, and peeked out into the night. It was very dark but up in the sky the stars twinkled and once in a while a falling star sent a great trail of sparks across the sky. The tree frogs were singing in the treefrog tree and it was warm and still.

While they watched they heard something coming down the path. It was a slow plop, plop, plop. What could it be? Pretty soon they saw Mr. Turtle coming along, slowly and steadily, and when he saw them he stopped.

"How do you do, Mrs. Mouse?" he asked. "How are you tonight?" Mr. Turtle is slow, but he is always very polite.

"I am fine, Mr. Turtle," said Mamma Mouse. "We are watching the stars."

"Have a nice evening," said Mr. Turtle, and he went on his way down the path.

And then they heard something else, and it was coming very fast. Thumpety, thumpety, thump. It was Mr. Rabbit and he didn't stop. "Mrs. Fox is coming," he cried as he dashed past. He whisked around the bend and then he was gone.

Momma Mouse put her arms around Baby Mouse and hugged him close. "Be very quiet" she whispered. "Don't make a sound."

Mamma Mouse was so frightened that she trembled all over, and her tail stuck out straight behind her. She heard the pitter-patter of feet, and saw Mrs. Fox coming fast down the path, but Mrs. Fox didn't stop. She wanted Mr. Rabbit and she kept right on going.

Then it was quiet for a long time. Mr. Garden Snake came swishing along, but he doesn't eat mice, so Mamma Mouse wasn't afraid. She even said hello to him, but he didn't stop. He was on his way to the treefrog tree and wanted his dinner. And then they heard another sound, and Mamma Mouse was frightened all over again. She knew what the sound meant. It was Mr. Hoot Owl and she knew he ate mice.He was slowly flapping along, making soft swooshing sounds in the quiet night. Mamma Mouse and Baby Mouse were so quiet they could hear the little brook that ran along beside the path and the beetle tapping away inside an old log. Then it was quiet again and they knew that Mr. Owl was gone.

"Thank goodness," said Mamma Mouse. "Let's go home before we get eaten. Mrs. Fox will be back and she will still be hungry. Take my hand and run as fast as you can."

They scurried back to their little home under the old oak tree. Mamma Mouse took off Baby Mouse's shoes and jacket and tucked him into bed. They were safe. Mamma Mouse cuddled up in her own bed and in a few minutes she was asleep too. Outside it was still dark and the stars still twinkled in the sky. And the night creatures still searched for something to eat. But they wouldn't find Baby Mouse or Mamma Mouse. They were safe for the night.