The Epic Tail of a Mouse

From somewhere within the house the cry will sometimes sound, "There's a mouse in here!" Of course, usually our dogs have tried to warn us several times and have been ignored. Nonetheless, the cry will sound in human words, and it will stir the house into action. Tonight, the words came. With my Dad away, I took up the epic war against rodent pests, counting on our two dogs to actually catch the thing. I crept into the living room. "Where did it go?"

"It's under the TV cabinent!" The dogs testified to this, running from side to side, sticking their noses as far into the gap between the cabinent and wall as they could go. I realized that this meant the mouse would be trapped like in a tube. An easy victim.

If I could make the dogs understand the concept. I would need one stationed at either end. For a split second, they were in position. I shifted the cabinent a little. Both dogs crowded against my leg. I pushed one of them, the smaller papillion, back to the other side. Again, I moved the TV stand. Grace, the larger dog, darted forward. A flurry of brown at my feet caught my attention. I admit,I squealed, lunging towards one of our couches just as a way to get away from the mouse. "It's heading for the couch!" Without thinking, I jumped.

"Not that couch, Lauren! This one!" I realized then that she meant the couch that she sat on. Blushing, I'm sure, I clamored off my perch. Usually it was Mom who squealed and panicked while I remained calm.

"Let's flip it!" I suggested. We finally got the dogs to understand our fugitive now hid under the couch- not behind the cabinent. Together, Mom and I quickly flipped it. I held my breath incase the mouse made another escape over my foot. Nothing.

And then..."Quick, Grace, Ash! Over here!" I ran after the small furry dot running across our floor. The dogs remained staring at the couch. The mouse disappeared under our kitchen counters. I dared to put my face near the floor, but the creature had already disappeared. And the dogs, my partners in mouse hunting? Well, they were back sniffing around the TV cabinent. They would starve to death if they needed to hunt their own food.

As for me, I think I've had enough mouse hunting to last awhile. I tried, Daddy!