The Old Man and the Mouse

There once was a little mouse who lived in a hole in the wall of an old man’s house. The man was retired and led a fairly routine life. He woke up, ate, fiddled in his workshop, and slept. The mouse had lived in the old man’s house as long as he could remember, and they had grown into a mutual agreement of sorts. The old man left his crumbs of food laying on the floor after every meal for the mouse to eat, and in return the mouse didn’t nibble at the food he kept in his cupboard. This “treaty” lasted for many years.

The pair was growing quite old, the man by man years and the mouse by mouse years. There wasn’t a day that went by that the little mouse went to bed hungry, and not a day went by that the old man was violated by the mouse’s presence. I’d even go so far as to say that they enjoyed each other’s company. They were as close to friends as an old man and an old mouse could become.

One day, the mouse happened upon a particularly large chunk of cheese laying idly in the middle of the floor. He happily scurried over and took a bite. A large wire sprung loose without time to react, crushing the head of the little mouse and killing him.

Moral of the story: Trust no one, even if you think it’s safe.

Chance Whidby