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That’s it! Bruce thought to himself. He’d had enough of that wretched
mouse who simply thought that he had the run of the house, day or night.
Why, only just last night Bruce had left the remainder of his chicken and
vegetable dinner on his plate and the little pest had climbed up onto the
plate and eaten some.
It was while he was taking his usual after dinner snooze. Bruce had fallen
asleep in his favourite lounge-chair in front of the warm fire when the
scene of the crime had taken place.
The other annoying thing was that Bruce had been saving the rest of his
dinner for supper later that night. He really hadn’t felt all that hungry at
dinner time. In the end his dinner had to be thrown out as he couldn’t bear
the thought of eating after that knowing that the mouse had eaten some of
it.
Melissa had spent a long time preparing the meal for both of them. She had
called it “a waste” and was not happy at all.
After a quick breakfast the next morning Melissa left to go shopping. It was
Saturday so he had all day to figure out how to get rid of this little
smelly furry grey mouse once and for all. Mouse traps had been set numerous
times in anticipation of catching the unwelcome little pest, but to no
avail.
Slowly Bruce crept over to where the mouse-hole was. He manoeuvred himself
as low as possible to see if he could glimpse of the tiny creature inside.
It was totally dark inside and he couldn’t see a thing. “Dash it”, he
mumbled to himself. A waft of that unpleasant dry musky smell assailed his
delicate nostrils and he was suddenly taken aback with the odour.
Bruce decided in the end to hide behind the lounge chair for awhile to see
what and if anything would happen. It seemed an endless and tiresome wait
and he’d lost all hope of even catching a glimpse of that horrid, smelly
mouse. Just as he was about to turn around to go into the kitchen for a
snack a little grey head peeked out of the mouse-hole.
Bruce waited silently trying not to make any noise at all. He was ready to
grab the little creature if it dared to venture out beyond its abode, but it
didn’t seem to happen, the mouse just stood there looking around. It was
almost as if the little grey mouse suspected something was going on.
How irritating and tiresome all this waiting was, such a waste of ones time
and energy. This could be a long wait he sighed out aloud. He should be
doing more important things besides this. But then he thought how wonderful
it would be to have the pesky mouse caught and gotten rid of before Melissa
got home.
After what seemed to be a very long time Bruce decided to head for the
lounge-chair. He was feeling rather tired now. The longer Bruce sat there
the sleepier he became and he starting nodding off to sleep. It didn’t take
anytime at all and his mind began to wander.
What a boring day, he had done nothing at all so far. He really should spend
a little more time in the garden. It was looking very nice at the moment
with all the new vegetables in and the blooming flowers.
It was amazing how many different kinds of beautiful butterflies and birds
came to visit the garden. Bruce loved watching them but every time he came
closer to look at them they would hurriedly fly off! He could never
understand it.
On nice sunny days Melissa and Bruce usually dined out on the veranda where
it was nice and airy. After lunch they would sit there quietly huddled
together on the swing chair just enjoying each other’s company. Those were
the days Bruce thought! It must be lunch-time soon as his stomach began
growling with hunger. Surely Melissa would be coming home soon to prepare
their lunch.
As he started dozing Bruce thought about his mother and how much he missed
her since she had passed on. She had been a very soft and caring mother and
loved all her offspring. Bruce really didn’t know his father as he had taken
off as soon as his mother was pregnant. How cruel had that been, and selfish
too.
Then his mind suddenly came back to little mouse and thought about the poor
little mouses mother. They probably loved each mother too. If anything
happened to her little son then she would be distraught.
Bruce thought that he was really going crazy now. A mouse missing its
parents – what ever will he be thinking next!
The thought of this suddenly made Bruce feel quite sad.
Bruce decided then and there he could and would not pursue the little grey
mouse again. Even a mouse had a right to live and eat like everyone else.
Bruce starting feeling better about himself and his new change of attitude.
Maybe he could make friend with the furry little ball and he would have
something to play with instead. They could become friends even.
It was a beautiful sunny day so Bruce decided to sit in the swing chair on
the veranda to wait for Melissa’s return. He might even be able to fit in a
snooze before she returned. Another sleep he thought, he really must take up
a hobby.
Almost straight away he could hear the familiar humming sound of the car's
engine making its way down the street and then into the driveway.
Bruce was relieved that Melissa was home safe and sound and rose quickly off
the comfortable chair to meet her at the top of the stairs. He could see her
now as she opened the back door of the car to retrieve her handbag from the
back seat.
As Melissa approached the steps she looked up and gave Bruce one of
those big beautiful smiles and said “hello darling”.
Once up the stairs they just looked at each other for a few second before
she spoke.
Melissa promptly put her hand out to touch him.
“Good cat” Melissa said as she softly and deliberately stroked the fur on
his back!
Sandy 25th January, 2003
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