The Mouse Hunt

On Friday night, Mom and I were sitting in our living room when I saw a mouse run behind our organ. Mom is a relatively tolerant person when it comes to animals, but she has never appreciated the idea of having mice in the house. So, as soon as I informed her of my rodent sighting, she ordered all forces to be gathered for an attack. Indeed, the reserves must be called in. Richmond was already soundly asleep in his bed, but what does a paltry thing like a good night's rest matter when there is a mouse in the house? He was summoned to his station of duty, and came willingly enough once he had absorbed the information.

We raided the kitchen cabinets for plastic containers, each choosing what we thought would make the best receptacle for a mouse. Richmond and I poised ourselves on either side of the organ while Mom cautiously scooted it away from the wall. The mouse came out like a streak of lightning and made it to the shelter of the schoolroom file cabinet with us in hot pursuit.

So, we all took up our stations again, hovering expectantly around the file cabinet, Tupperware held at the ready. The mouse appeared, and we made a concerted dive for him. In the midst of crashing heads, clashing Tupperware, and flailing arms, the mouse made it to the safety of our built in bookshelves and disappeared from view. We attempted with a yardstick to flush him from his lurking place, but to no avail. So, we contented ourselves with stuffing each nook and cranny with steel wool in the hope of making him a permanent resident of The Land Behind the Book Case. 

However, we caught sight of our mouse again on the very next day. Mom saw him scurry along the desk... and vanish into our computer. I had recently begun to wonder why the computer was making such unusual noises.... mystery solved! After careful study of a very cryptic computer manual, Mom was able to remove the cover, and we peered into an intricate maze of wires and cables, looking for our mouse. There he was! He made a mad dash for freedom, but this time he was not quick enough. My weapon of choice, a Cool-Whip tub, crashed down upon him. 

Our mouse troubles were not over, however. We soon discovered that our rodent visitor must have found our house a very comfortable one, and invited all of his friends and relatives to share it with him. Mom declared war by going out and purchasing every variety of mouse trap that the hastily scavenged aisles of Wal-Mart could offer. She has sticky traps, quick release traps, and one that is supposed to look like the entrance to a mouse hole - I'm sure that our little visitors will be impressed! I pondered what it must be like to have the job of inventing mousetraps (would it not be rather depressing?) as I baited all of the wicked looking contraptions (nearly losing a few fingers in the process), and set them out in what I hope will prove to be strategic positions. We will soon find out!