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Tell me a story, or Go Away!
Bedtime stories I told my Daughter.
By
Elizabeth Massaro
Don’t Invite Disaster!
as told to Emily, one
evening Circa 2002.
Once upon
a time there were three mice who lived under a rather nice, large,
brown mushroom in forest. They were happy mice. They had plenty of
food and their house was warm in the winter and cool in the summer,
as it was underground. The mice were named, Thoreau, Ishmael, and
Richard.
Now, Thoreau was a very
philosophical mouse. He was always wondering about things. Often
he wondered why all the animals of the forest couldn’t get along and
be friends. He was always going on about how things could be better
if we could all “just get along.” Ishmael was an adventurous
mouse. He was always getting into trouble, but somehow he always
escaped unharmed. And Richard, well he was just Richard. He didn’t
go out much and he didn’t say very much to anyone. He was a private
mouse, who enjoyed his own thoughts and watching television.
One day, out of nowhere,
Thoreau decided that the three mice should have a party! Not just
any party, but a real hum dinger! “Let’s invite everyone in the
forest!” He declared. “That way we can show everyone our good will
and good intent!”
“Oh that sounds exciting,” said Ishmael.
“It sounds expensive, and like a lot of
trouble,” said Richard.
“I’ll send out the invitations,” said
Thoreau.
And so he did. He sent an invitation to
everyone in the forest, the rabbits, the robins, the squirrels, and
the chipmunks. He also invited the fox, the weasel, and the snake!
Now, some of the other animals heard who was coming, and for some
reason, one by one all of the other mice, robins, rabbits,
squirrels and chipmunks sent their apologies to the mice. They
would be unable to attend the party it seemed, for one reason or
another.
This troubled Thoreau, who had wanted a big
party.
“Oh well, at least some of the animals are
still coming,” he reasoned. “We can still have quite an interesting
time!”
Now, Richard had been
troubled about the party, since he heard the proposal. He wanted to
go to his brother’s home in the oak tree until the party was over to
avoid the noise and the crowd. But Thoreau and Ishmael would have
none of it. They insisted that Richard be a good friend and
entertain with them, so Richard, being a timid mouse who didn’t like
disagreement, agreed to stay and entertain.
The day of the party came and Thoreau and
Ishmael were so excited they couldn’t stand it! Richard just wanted
the whole thing to be over.
Promptly at 8:00 p.m.,
the guests all arrived together.
“Welcome friends,” said Thoreau excitedly! “We
have plenty of good things to eat!”
“So we see! Said the snake, the weasel and the
fox together!” And they promptly each grabbed a mouse and ate him
up.
The end.
Moral of this story:
Don’t invite disaster, and don’t be intimidated into agreeing to the
demands of so-called friends!
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