The Christmas Mouse
by
Susan Day
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Susan Day on Smashwords
The Christmas Mouse
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Day
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
* * * * *
The Christmas Mouse
Little Mouse lived in a tree in the country
It was a beautiful pine tree, tall and strong. It had lush thick branches that stretched and stretched way up into the sky. These branches provided a shelter from the snow and the rain in winter and the hot sun in summer.
The Little Mouse loved his tree. He invited neighbouring animals and his mousy relatives to see it. He took them on tours of the magnificent tree showing them how straight and long each branch was and how tall the tree was.
Most evenings he would hold extravagant dinner parties and cocktail hours. And he invited all the creatures from the woods. The rabbits, the foxes, the possums and the kangaroos – all came together to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the Little Mouse.
During the day, the Little Mouse cleaned and dusted his tree. He would knock down spider webs and evict the spider on the spot. If he found any bug, it would be ordered out straight away. This kept him very busy as it was a very big tree!
December soon arrived and the Little Mouse had made plans to have the best Christmas party in the woods. He would invite all of his friends and neighbours. No one would be left out. There would be food and drinks, coloured lights, beautiful music and much more.
The Little Mouse thought to himself, “This is going to be the sort of party that folk will be talking about for years to come.” And his little chest swelled with pride.
He sat for hours making plans on his iPhone and researching recipes on the internet. He went to all the fashionable websites to see what all the fashionable people were doing this year for their Christmas parties.
At the end of a particular busy day planning he fell into a deep sleep.
The Little Mouse was awoken by a violent shaking and a terrible shudder.
‘BANG! BANG! THUMP! THUMP!”
He jumped up and skittered down the trunk of his tree. On his way down the trunk he nearly fell out due to the violent shaking.
The Little Mouse gasped and fell back onto a branch in shock. He clutched his chest with one hand and shielded his eyes with the other. He had never seen such an awful sight in all his life.
A large ugly man was chopping down his tree!!
The man was dressed in a dirty singlet and wore grubby shorts with brown boots. He swung a big heavy axe. He was sweaty and dirty and the Little Mouse did not like him one bit! The man was cursing and mumbling too and the Little Mouse did not like that one bit either.
The banging and thumping got worse and worse. He had to hold tightly onto the pine needles to stop himself from falling.
“When he has stopped I will get my broom and evict him straight away!” gasped the Little Mouse bouncing up and down as if he was on a trampoline.
But the Little Mouse hadn’t realised that he had been living in a Christmas tree that was growing on a Christmas tree farm. His tree was just one of thousands that were growing in neat rows, side by side. Each year the people from the town come to the country and choose a tree to take home and decorate.
The man made the final chop and the Christmas tree fell on its side. The Little Mouse cried out in shock and disdain. He was so scared he couldn’t let go of the tree and hung on for his life. The tree was lifted up and thrown into the back of truck and the Little Mouse along with it.
“This one’s going to 934 Henderson’s Way, the “Fleming” family,” the man shouted to the driver.
“No worries, Barry,” the driver responded, “I’m on my way.”
The truck bounced down the country lane and out onto the highway. It grumbled and moaned as the driver changed gears. Dirty grey smoke billowed from the back as it swayed and lurched its way into town.
The Little Mouse was very frightened. He slowly climbed up through the branches of the tree and took a peak over the side of the truck. He gasped and reeled back in horror clutching his chest and shielding his eyes. He nearly fainted. The beautiful green countryside faded away and was replaced by shops and buildings and people, so many people!
The truck stopped outside a large house. The Little Mouse approved of the house because it had lovely window shutters and a very pretty garden. He did not like the way his tree was hauled out of the truck and plopped down on the front door step especially as he was still in it and he was very frightened.
“It’ll be OK,” the Little Mouse reassured himself, “I will explain to these people that there’s been some kind of mistake and that they’ve got the wrong tree. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement and they will return the tree to my home.”
The driver rang the bell and a flurry of people came rushing up to the door. The pushed and shoved and called out to each other rudely to see what was lying on their front door step. All, except a small boy.
The Little Mouse peered through the branches at them and watched them carefully.
There was a mother, a father and two children. The mother was tall and thin and the father was short and his shoulders were stooped. The oldest child was a girl of about 12 years and she looked just like her mother. The younger child was a small quiet boy who did not resemble either of his parents.
They paid the driver and all of them tried to carry the tree and set it up ready to be decorated. They were pushing and fighting over where the tree should go and who should decorate it.
Finally the tree was plonked down into a bucket of water and the father stood it up tall.
“It’s a beauty,” he remarked. “It’s actually touching the ceiling. I’ll get the step ladder.”
“Of course, it’s a beauty,” the Little Mouse mimicked, “It’s my beautiful tree!”
The two children stood staring up at the large tree. They’d never had a real Christmas tree before and they were taken back by the size and smell.
“Is it going to stink like that all the time?” asked the grumpy daughter. The quiet boy looked up at her quizzically. He was just thinking how nice the smell was and how much better their living room looked with the tree in it.
Her question had gone unanswered.
The mother dragged a large box of Christmas ornaments from under the stair cupboard and pushed them along the floor. She bumped them into the back of the little boy’s legs.