Broadcast: November 30, 2003
Duke's Story

Duke the Mouse in:
DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

     Who says kids these days don't know how to have simple, old-fashioned fun? Well, Duke isn't exactly a kid. Actually, he's my pet mouse and I like to finish these shows with a story about him. So I guess I should ask: who says mice these days don't know how to have simple, old-fashioned fun?
     Actually, I said that about Duke. He was sitting around the house asking if we could go to the mall or if he could play computer games or maybe see a movie.
     I mean, come on. Find your own fun. Do something creative for a change.
     Well, that didn't set very well with Duke. He's the kind of mouse who would rather have it all done for him. His idea of a creative winter afternoon is to take a nap. Don't get me wrong, naps are nice. But there's a whole world out there just waiting to be experienced. And right now, it happens to be covered in snow. So, I told my pet mouse, go out and explore it.
     I didn't see Duke for awhile. I was just about to curl up for a nap on the couch when I saw something zoom by out the window. Well, there's nothing unusual about that except this thing zoomed down like it was falling from somewhere up high. And it had a voice. And it sounded like a mouse. And it was screaming.
     Like I said, I was sleepy so I did the best thing: I ignored it and laid down for a nap. And there it was AGAIN! Only this time the scream was louder than before.
     Ok, ok. I went outside in the cold afternoon air to see what was going on. I could see some unusual tracks in the snow. They seemed to start right in the middle of the yard and the proceed around back. It was as if some creature had just floated to the ground and—then it happened again. I looked up just in time to see Duke come sailing off the roof, fly through the air and land in the snow. Duke laughed and screamed all the way down. He stood up after landing in the snow and explained that this was his slippery slope and it was the greatest idea he ever had.
     It seems that Duke had taken the top of a tin can, waxed it with wax paper and was using it as a saucer sled to fly off the roof. He asked me if I wanted to try.
     I explained to him that I would rather break my arm some other way.
     Duke let me know that it was up to me to miss out on all the fun.
     And then I had a brilliant idea. I got an old handkerchief, tied some strings to it and stuffed it into one of Duke's tiny backpacks. Next time he went off the roof, Duke pulled on one of the strings and a parachute opened. He floated very gently to the ground, still screaming and laughing all the way down.
     Talk about old fashioned fun. That's my mouse for you. I'm just glad he didn't break a leg. And that's the way it is with Duke.