Pipsqueak was a tiny little mouse
Who lived in the attic of the Jones' family house,
On a noisy, busy street near the center of town.
He liked to creep out on the gutter and look down.
He would curl his tail around a nail,
And shiver with fear.
How far away everything looked down there!
"Be careful, Pipsqueak," Mother would say,
"Where you run and where you play.
The cat ate your uncles Willie and Nat,
And a car rolled your Uncle Joe quite flat.
Never, ever go down to the ground
Just to play or run around."
Now, Pipsqueak was a very young mouse.
He was the smallest mouse in the whole big house.
When Mother would call for breakfast or lunch
or supper, she sounded the call just once.
Ten brothers, twelve sisters, and cousins galore
Would all come racing straight for the door.
Three uncles, six aunts, and Mother and Dad,
All fighting to eat what food they had,
Pushing and shoving -- no one ever said please -
-Each one trying to get some cheese.
No matter how quickly Pipsqueak would come,
He never could get more than one tiny crumb.
He couldn't grow bigger, or sleeker, or fat.
He was always too tired to play "Bell the Cat."
He tried to be happy, but always was sad.
He cried every night, and began to be bad.
He sat on the gutter and watched the birds fly.
They would land on the ground, and then swiftly fly by
With a mouthful of something white,
And land on the roof just out of sight.
Pipsqueak crept up the chimney to see
Just what the mouthfuls of white stuff could be.
He found crumbs on the roof!
Delicious -- and foolproof --
No brothers and sisters and cousins to fight.
He went up to the roof after supper that night.
Mother caught him and spanked; the roof was forbidden.
The next day, through the window, he saw something hidden
By a squirrel in a tree.
He thought it was food, and he said, "That's for me!"
From gutter to branch, from branch to another,
From there to the food - and then he saw Mother.
He was spanked again, and sent to bed without supper.
A cousin brought him a cheerer-upper.
"We've chewed a hole in the wall," he said,
"To go downstairs and get some bread."
In the morning Pipsqueak tried to go too,
But Mother said, "That will never do.
You're too small to go."
And his tummy growled so.
At supper time there was more to eat,
But Pipsqueak was trampled by everyone's feet.
When they were all finished, a few crumbs he found.
And his tummy again made a deep growling sound.
After all were in bed, too hungry to sleep,
He tiptoed out, trying hard not to weep.
He crept to the hole in the wall and ran through.
It was dark, and he shivered. "Now what do I do?"
His path slanted down. He soon saw a light.
He turned at a sound, and froze in fright.
When nothing happened, he kept on going.
Then he bumped into something that went, "Ba-boing!"
He would have turned back, but he smelled something good.
Around a doorjamb, and there it was - food!
Someone had swept all the crumbs in a pile.
Pipsqueak ate every one -- it took quite a while.
With a nice full tummy he turned right around,
And ran back to bed, not making a sound.
After breakfast next morning the mice had assembly.
Uncle Johnny was madder than bats with no belfrey.
He talked and he shouted, he jumped up and down;
He was so very mad, he looked like a clown.
"There's plenty of food - we just can't get at it.
We'll always be hungry if we stay in this attic!"
"But there are cars in the street, and snakes in the grass.
It just isn't safe for a mouse to pass."
"There's a cat in the cellar." another mouse said.
"My husband was trapped by the neck until dead."
"Traps are awful," another aunt sighed in dismay.
"I lost half of my tail in a trap one day."
"There's a dog in the kitchen. It's not safe for us there."
"We could hide in the pantry, under the stairs."
"Well, what do you think? Should we find a new nest?"
Uncle Johnny said, "Yes," and so said the rest.
"Let's divide into teams, and search the whole house
For all the safe hidey-holes right for a mouse.
Make a list of the good points, as well as the bad."
"Oh, this is the best idea we've ever had."
Everyone filed through the hole in the wall.
Even Pipsqueak was going. "Be careful. Don't fall."
The humans who lived there had a terrible day.
They saw mice running every which way.
They heard funny noises in ceilings and walls,
Saw mice slide down railings, and heard mouse lookout calls.
Finally they brought the cat in the house,
But she couldn't find a single mouse.
Their searching was over. They'd assembled again.
Everyone had his paper and pen.
Each group reported on what they had found.
They wrote lots of notes, and passed the notes 'round.
There were lots of nice mouse-holes all over the house,
But not many had room for more than one mouse.
"We would have to split up, and I'm not sure that's wise."
"I've worked out a plan to avoid human eyes."
"I think we can manage. At least we can try."
"Surely moving is better than staying to die."
"All right, let's vote. Shall we move? Raise your hands."
"All hands are up. OK now, for plans..."
All of the children got rooms of their own.
Every tenth room had a mouse chaperon.
They had signals and drills and rules to learn.
Pipsqueak hated to listen and take his turn.
"But it's dangerous not to - what if the cat
Heard you making a fuss, and came pitter-pat?
He hated to march, but he loved the new song.
Whenever they gathered, he sang it out strong:
Shake your partner by the hand
Before you go into human-land.
Signal the mousehole at any alarm.
Abide by the rules and you'll come to no harm.
Bring food to the checkpoint,
And then to the pantry.
We'll eat when it's safe,
But collect when it's handy.
At first Pipsqueak found it was hard to remember
All the signals and rules - and he'd lose his temper.
Trap school was silly - who's afraid of a trap?
They went out on a field trip, and he saw a trap snap.
Then did he study hard? You bet!
He hasn't forgotten a single word yet.
He was sloppy at cat drill, till he saw a real cat,
And then he was perfect in two days flat.
"Rules really are good." he finally said,
After spending a week sick in his bed
Because he had nibbled on something he shouldn't
When all of the other, smarter mice wouldn't.
After learning why he must not shirk,
He even learned how to be happy with work.
The family still gathered together to eat,
But everyone went to his very own seat.
No one had to hurry, no one had to squeeze.
They all waited their turn, and they even said, "Please."
Pipsqueak was happy, and full, and all that...
And he wasn't a very small mouse anymore.
He grew older, and taller, and plump, and then fat.