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Bruce was a chubby little mouse. His
fur was light brown and he had a long tail. He loved to eat cheese. He’d
eat cheese in the morning, at noon, and at night before going to bed.
One day he ran into Mr. Bairdie’s
house to look for a mid-afternoon snack. Sitting on the counter was a box.
Curious about what was inside, Bruce climbed up and had a peek. He saw
packages of crackers, biscuits, and all sorts of cheeses.
Bruce’s eyes lit up with delight.
There was enough food here to last him for a month. He nibbled a tiny hole
in the package of crackers and started breaking off bits. "These are
salty," he coughed. "I need a drink of water!" He ran over to the sink and
let a few drops fall from the tap into his mouth. "Much better!"
"What should I try next?" he smiled.
"Ah, I’ll try these biscuits." He used his tiny paws to tear a hole in the
package "Raisins! I love raisin biscuits." He nibbled away until he was
full. "I’m thirsty again," he sighed and ran over to the sink and let a
few drops of water fall from the tap into his mouth. "Much better!" He
patted his tummy and ran back to the box.
"Cheese! Look at all the different
kinds. There’s Swiss, Brie, Gouda, and my favorite, Cheddar. I’ll start
with that," Bruce chuckled and began to eat the cheese.
Unknown to the mouse, Callum, a
large gray cat, was watching him. He had a plan. He was going to wait
until the mouse was full of food and too fat to run fast and then he’d
catch him and gobble him down. He lay in front of the fire pretending to
be asleep, but one of his eyes watched with curiosity at all times.
"I’m getting full," Bruce yawned.
"I’ve eaten crackers, raisin biscuits and all sorts of delicious cheeses.
I think I’ll get another drink of water and then head back to my mouse
hole." He ran over to the sink and let a few drops of water fall from the
tap into his mouth. "Much better!" He patted his ever-so-fat tummy and
started to climb out of the sink. The problem was that he was too full and
too fat to get back out. "Uh oh," he cried.
"It’s time," Callum smiled, standing
up and stretching. "I’ve been waiting patiently for this moment. That fat
mouse will taste delicious. I’m starving." The cat headed for the sink. He
hopped onto the counter and looked down, seeing the plump mouse
frantically trying to climb out. "Having problems?" he sneered.
Bruce looked up and saw the large
cat. He started running around in circles in the sink, hoping to confuse
Callum. With no other choice, he crawled into the drain and crept away.
"Come back here, you mouse! You’re
not getting away. I’ve waited all day for you to get fatter and fatter,"
Callum shouted, angrily.
Bruce had a difficult time getting
through the pipes because he’d eaten so much, but finally was able to
crawl out through the end of a broken piece of pipe and run to his mouse
hole. Safely inside, he peeked out and saw the cat sitting at the sink.
That night Bruce had a bad dream. He
dreamt that he was trying to get to some cheese, but everywhere he went
there was a cat. There were brown cats, gray cats, orange cats, blue cats
and striped cats. No matter which direction he went, a cat was always
sitting near the cheese. He woke up shaking in terror. "Whew, that was a
bad dream. I guess I’d better not eat so much."
From that day on, Bruce made sure
that he ate only enough to take away his hunger. He never again ate so
much that his tummy got fat and he never went near the kitchen sink for a
drink of water. |
