Mouses Houses The Pet Shop Mice Written by Lin Edgar Illustrations by Howard Gray

Mouses Houses The Pet Shop Mice Written by Lin Edgar Illustrations by Howard Gray

Mouses Houses If there is one animal that abounds in every country of the world, it must surely be the humble mouse. They are not endangered even though just about every other animal finds them quite a delicacy there will always be plenty of mice. Just about anything and any place can be a home for this little fellow and his needs are very simple. This story is about The Pet Shop Mice. In the middle of the High Street of a very busy town there was a pet shop. It sold all sorts of small pets and every possible thing that a pet could need. Scrummy foods to eat, cages to live in, toys to play with and lots more. The shop sold tiny mice who were housed in large glass tanks, boys in one and girls in another. They didn t mind being in the large tanks as they knew that every one would be sold sooner or later and would leave the shop in a small cardboard box to start life with a new family where they would be a pampered pet. They looked forward to the day when it would be their turn. 1

There was one small family of mice however who did not live in a glass tank. They lived at the back of a shelf close to the floor where old newspapers and paper bags were shored. An old empty tea caddy now provided a cosy home for the two adult mice and their two babies. Because the shop was so busy during the day with customers coming and going, the little mice could only come out at night when the shopkeeper had locked the shop and gone home for his tea. Then Trevor and Tessa mouse came out from their little home and went off to exercise and search for today s little delicacies for their own tea. The two young mice, Tina and Tommy, were allowed out to play and they scuttled up and down the shelves and across the floors. Tina was a very well behaved little mouse who always listened to her parents and never got into trouble. She was never far away and was content to stay close by her parents. Tommy, however, was not so well behaved and longed for the time when he heard the key turn in the lock of the shop front door. This meant that the pet shop owner had gone home and it was now safe to come out of their dark hiding place and go off exploring. Tommy s parents did not make any rules about where the little ones should and should not play but one of the places they must not venture to was the shop window where the other animals were kept. Here the hamsters, gerbils, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds lived, all in their separate cages. 2

Being a very adventurous and rather naughty little mouse, Tommy often went close to the window to look at the other animals. He thought them rather dull living as they did in cages, never having adventures as he did and though he tried to make friends with the mice in the tanks, they didn t want to know him and thought that he was the odd one for living outside the tank. One evening just after the shop had closed, Tommy scampered as usual up to the front shop window. There was a new cage which he had not seen before and the notice on it was Gecko lizards for sale. Now Tommy had never seen a lizard before and was filled with curiosity to see what such a strange sounding creature looked like. He couldn t see from the edge of the window as the cage was facing away from him. He would have to climb into the window and look down into the cage, which was next to the mice. Climbing was easy for Tommy and in a flash he had clambered up the side of the shelves and along the top of the cages. He balanced on the edge of the rim of the tank containing the mice and then calamity struck. He slipped and fell headlong into the pile of sleeping mice below. There was a great deal of squeaking from the indignant mice as Tommy backed terrified into a corner and tried to scrabble up the slippery sides of the tank. He should have known it was impossible, as all the mice would have escaped by now if they had been able to simply climb out. He sat in one corner of the tank; friendless and alone, facing the other mice who clearly had no intention of befriending this intruder who had so rudely dropped in on them. He tried to call for his family but they were too far away to hear him and soon his calls gave way to sobs and his tiny mouse tears ran down his whiskers. He spent the longest night of his life alone in a corner in a place he did not want to be, not knowing that his family were frantically searching for him all over the shop and when they came near to the window he didn t heard them as he cried himself to sleep. 3

The following day, Trevor and Tessa decided that they would break one of their own strictest rules. They would have to stay out in the daytime to continue looking for their little boy. Tina was to be left at home as she was not clever enough to keep herself hidden when people were around. She stayed tucked up in her bed with food and a favourite toy and was told not to venture out of the Tea Caddy. When her parents had gone she wriggled down into her soft bed and hummed quietly to stop herself being afraid. Trevor and Tessa searched all morning for Tommy, creeping along the bookshelves and freezing so that they looked like toy mice if a person came close to them. They were about to give up when a rather jolly, fat man came into the shop and asked to see the tank containing the mice as he wanted a surprise present for his son s birthday the following day. The Shopkeeper lifted the tank out of the window and placed it on the counter for the man to select which one he wanted. Tessa clasped her hand to her whiskers when she saw her beloved son sitting in the corner of the tank. The jolly, fat man studied the selection of mice and finally said, I think I ll take this little fellow in the corner, his fur is such a shiny brown colour I m sure my son would love to have him as a pet. Tessa could only look on as Tommy was lifted out of the tank and placed in a cardboard box to be transported away from the shop. The tears ran down her own whiskers as she wearily made her way back to the Tea Caddy. No one could eat in the Tea Caddy for the rest of the day and no one slept much that night. The following day Trevor, Tessa and Tina were still very, very unhappy as they thought they would never see their little boy again. cardboard box At around five o clock in the afternoon, just before the shop was due to close, the jolly, fat man puffed up to the shop again. He was out of breath and rather red in the face. Thank heavens I ve caught you, he wheezed, I m afraid my son didn t like the colour of this mouse as his friend at school has just got a white one and my lad wants one the same colour. The jolly, fat man was carrying the small 4

which contained Tommy and in no time at all he was exchanged for a sleek white mouse and placed in the tank. Tommy blinked in the sunlight, still unsure of what was happening and three very happy little mice hugged themselves on the shelf under the counter. They could hardly wait until the key was turned in the lock and the petshop owner went home to that they could rescue Tommy. The minutes ticked by endlessly until at last the coast was clear and they were able to come out of the Tea Caddy. They had spent their time while waiting in devising a plan of rescue. Without haste the three little mice raced to the front of the shop, pausing only to nibble a length of string from the ball which was kept next to the till. When they arrived at the cages they carefully tied one end of the string to the bars of one of the cages while Trevor very carefully took the other end in his mouth and tiptoed, as Tommy had done, across the top of the tank containing the mice. He was much more experienced at balancing than Tommy and reached the corner of the tank without any trouble. He then lowered the end of the piece of string down to a very excited little Tommy who was jigging around waiting eagerly to grab the string and climb up it. Trevor hugged Tommy and they carefully made their way down the shelves remembering to pull up the string after them. Tessa and Tina danced round with joy and the four little mice hugged each other with glee. They made their way back to the Tea Caddy pausing only to remove some exceptionally delicious nibbles from the counter for their celebration tea. 5

Other stories in this series The Railway Mice The Shed Mice The Zoo Mice The Lighthouse Mice The Garage Mice The Speedy Mice The Boot Mice

Lin Edgar and Howard Gray