The City Mouse & The Country Cat

City Mouse was a real city slicker, driving his mini mouse mini sports car in the fast lane, which left fur flying everywhere and eating out at all the top cat restaurants. At school the city mouse learned in history all about the days before the invention of the Edam wheel - when ancient mice lived in burrows and had very little writing ability other than scratching. His first job was working in an office as a cleaner for Nice City Mice Inc. - he scurried and hurried along in his busy city life - rushing to work on the city bus and shopping for all kinds of mice shopping. Despite the exhaust fumes all around, pollution and street dust, mice hygiene habits are so meticulous that you would have to look long and carefully to find any dirty spots on a City Mouse. In the City, houseowners hate mice because of the damage they cause. Food, clothing, furniture, books and many other household items are contaminated by their droppings and urine, or damaged by their gnawing. House mice gnaw through electrical wiring, causing fires and failure of freezers, clothes dryers and other appliances. Mice also can transmit diseases, most notably salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected rodent droppings. So City Mouse looked elsewhere for a home - his pad was a mouse hole - and a very fashionable one at that ! He used his furry tail to sweep up in all the corners of his mouse hole and clear away the cobwebs. His fur lined bed was the most comfortable in the mouse planet - at the side, resting on the bedside table was his favourite bedtime read - what else but "Of Mice and Men" ? Like most mice, he groomed daily and washed behind his ears - sleeking down his whiskers and preening his tail with curlers. He often had his spider and insect friends round to dinner - they sang veterinary songs nostalgically and reminisced about the old days in the rats nest when they learned how to scurry together. His night time parties left the cage in a real state - there were droppings everywhere. This particular mouse was an especially hungry chap - what he liked most in life was to lick a cheese nibble or two - of course, these were his favourite dish - but he had to watch out for the mousetrap placed suitably at the cafe door in case he got his tail caught. He left tiny footprints in breadcrumbs all over the place and mousy teethmarks in the hunks of cheese hidden in the fridge. Compared to rats, mice forage only short distances from their nest -- usually not more than 10-25 feet. More often that not, therefore, City Mouse stayed in the city but eventually he found a sweetheart - someone to swoon over, curl up by the fireside and share a saucer of milk with - A Country Cat who he met whilst visiting the Mice Museum exhibition of micey artwork and artefacts. Unlike City Mouse, who was most used to a fast city life, Country Cat was brought up on a farm - his childhood as a kitten had been spent chasing mice like City Mouse (but he didn't tell her that when they married, of course !). He still had pawprint photographs of his life in the haystack. Soon City Mouse was so tame that he allowed Country Cat to lick his ears. City Mouse was bowled over - he loved the way Country Cat tickled his whiskers and he waved his tail in delight. Mice are prolific breeders, producing 6 -10 litters continuously throughout the year. But Country Cat and he decided to adopt a whole new family. Their offspring were often upto all kinds of mischevious tricks and trouble. Generally City Mouse and Country Cat lived a happy and contented life - purring continuously. The only disturbance in their humdrum existence was the pest control vandals and hooligans - who caused much furore in their peaceful rodent neighbourhood. What rats ! To control mice, you must "think like a mouse," so that was the company's slogan - "Think Like A Mouse !". A mouse can only live for between three to five years - so it wasn't long before City Mouse's fur was thinning and balding in places. When she died she was buried in the Country Cats graveyard farm along with all the other rodents in the neighbourhood.

Cat's recipe Ingredients Peanut Butter Crackles

1 3/4 c. flour 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. butter, softened 1/2 c. peanut butter

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and press chocolate kisses firmly into cookie.

© Jacqueline Richards 2005