The Mouse of Winter

1/4/10

The young boy ventured into the cold night; the light layer of snow crunching beneath his boots. In one hand he held a flashlight, in the other, a hammer; just in case mercy was required. The boy walked at a brisk pace, determined to get his "mission" over with. His heart pounded as he neared the spot he had left the poor creatures many hours ago, out here in the cold. He was afraid of the sight he might come to, but he pushed ever onward.

At last, the boy arrived at the clearing in the snowy field where the snow had been swept away and in its place was a small covering of leaves that never got raked up last fall. As the boy bent to his knees, putting the hammer to one side and directing the flashlight into the miniscule pile and there was a rustling among the leaves.

The boy's heart leaped with surprise, which was soon replaced with relief. To be sure, the boy dug through the leaves and there was the mouse, almost entirely out of his sticky trap; (s)he was only caught by the tip of its tail. The mouse looked up and attempted to run away, but it proved in vain. The boy set down the flashlight and held down foul trap and tugged at the mouse's tail. Long moments passed and tail finally came free of the deadly adhesive. In a flash, the mouse had disappeared into the darkness.

The boy stayed kneeling in the snow, looking off in to the cold night in the direction the mouse had fled. There may not have been that storybook pause the mouse took to look back and the mouse may not be thankful of the boy's actions, but the boy was just glad that he took action to prevent the slow death of an innocent creature.