Monday, June 11, 2012

Mice


I love mice.  As Rose Fyleman said in her famous poem, they are "very nice."  How can you not love something so soft and tiny with such cute whiskers?  I know, they eat corn and seeds and grain and farmers hate them.  That's why they have cats.  Once when I was little, I was sitting on the step outside the farmhouse back door and my sisters and I had a cardboard container or straw and baby mice that my grandfather had caught in a nearby shed.  We let them go.  I didn't know what their fate would be, but I could guess and out they went.  Well, Grandpa was not happy with our compassionate critter routine.  We never did that again. 

I also know that at times I have had to set a mousetrap to catch a mouse in the house.  I am not afraid of them, but they don't belong running along my kitchen floor.  I just made sure that I didn't have to empty the trap.

My childhood storybooks always had such cute mice illustrations.  The best is Beatrix Potter who is amazing with any furry creatures.  There was the story, Ben and Me, of a mouse who lived in Benjamin Franklin's hat.  There is a newer one which won the Newberry prize for best children's book, Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo. This brave mouse goes on a quest.  I'm sure you can think of other cute and similar stories.

I also love Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Besides making the Magic Kingdom so friendly, they have a new clubhouse on early for the little ones.  It teaches letters, numbers, shapes, and kindness.

My favorite mouse is a little 4" porcelain Revolutionary figure wearing a tricorn hat.  He is carrying a lantern with one at his feet and he is reading a blue book, Longfellow's The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere.  I got him at the Old North Church gift shop when I went to Boston.  He is probably my favorite little figurine ever.

Well, there you have it, my funny fondness for mice - of every type.  Hope you cat lovers don't get upset.  I like cats, too. 

6 comments:

  1. I think I prefer mice of the ceramic or otherwise artificial kind, although real ones are cute as long as they are not in my house. :

    Happy Monday to you! Have a great week!

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  2. Here's where you and I part company, Nancy :)
    After Mickey and Minnie, my enthusiasm for mice dips sharply.

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  3. I'm with the others. Not a fan of rodents in any form.

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  4. Thank you for your comments. I think all of the furry little rodents are adorable. They make me smile. I guess that's why I had three gerbils over the years. They truly looked like large mice.

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  5. You are a MUCH more brave woman than I am, Nancy! The ONLY mice I like are the fictional ones! :o)

    I loved reading Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo, and the Redwall series by Brian Jacques is awesome. Oh! And of course, Reepicheep from the Chronicles of Narnia totally rocks!!

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  6. You know Holly, I was going to include Reepicheep in my list of great fictional mice, but I forgot. How could I possibly overlook such a brave and noble mouse?

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