A bunch of young animals were in school one day when the
teacher, Mr. Owl, told them about the bad weather on the way. He said an egret
had seen thunder clouds moving in and heavy rain and wind. Mr. Owl and the
Principal, Mrs. Turkey, decided to let the children out early so they could be
home when the storm struck. He told all the children to run, fly or slither
home as quickly as possible.
It didn’t take long for the classroom to empty, and soon
Mouse and Snake and a few others were quickly moving through the field near the
school. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck nearby and the rain started to fall
very heavily. The children were very
frightened and tried to hide in an old hollow log. Just as Mouse ran into the
log a low voice called from inside “Get out of my Home, you dratted noisy
children.” Mouse looked up and saw two red eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth.
Old Mr. Possum looked at Mouse and said, “Oh, the warmbloods can stay if they
must, but I won’t have any coldbloods in my house. You can’t trust them.”
Mouse looked behind him and saw that the other mice, a shrew
and a vole were pushing ahead, while his friend Snake and the other coldbloods
were shaking with fear. “Please Mr. Possum. Snake and the others are my friends
from school and they are scared. Please let them share your log? Please?” Mr.
Possum growled “NOT ON YOUR LIFE, BOY!”
About that time it really started to rain hard, and the log began
to fill up with water. Mr. Possum began to mumble about the end of the world,
and Mouse realized that he was as scared as the children. Just when things
looked really bad, Snake poked his head in the opening and said “Mouse! There
is another log a few feet away that is higher and bigger than this one. Hurry
before it is too late. So all the children hurried to the new log except Mouse,
who stayed behind. When Mr. Possum noticed that he and Mouse were alone he said
“Well boy, why don’t you run off with the other brats?” Mouse said “Because I
want you to come too. If you stay here you might drown, and that would be a
shame.” “Why should you care what happens to a grumpy old codger like me?” “Because
you are an animal like the rest of us and you must have some kindness left in
you after all the years you have been here.”
Well, Mr. Possum was speechless. Talked to like that from a
whippersnapper of a mouse of all things. He said “Boy, you have no idea, just
no idea at all what my life has been like. Chased by dogs and cats. Laughed at
by humans and chased by them until I fainted, hunted by coyotes and foxes. It
has been a hard life and I am afraid of dying. I think that is why I am so very
ornery. I strike out so no one gets close to me. Please, Mouse, just go let me
alone to die.”
At that Mouse shouted (the wind was getting very noisy) “NO
WAY! YOU REMIND ME OF MY GRANDPA, AND I WOULD NEVER LEAVE HIM BEHIND. NOW COME
ON OR WE WILL BOTH DIE!!!”
With that, Mouse bit Mr. Possum’s tail. Mr. Possum jumped up
and chased Mouse right out of the log and into the nearby higher one. When he
realized that he had been tricked into saving himself he was ashamed, and when
he felt all the children hugging him, yes, even the coldbloods, he began to
cry. He had forgotten the first lesson his mother taught him while he was still
in her pouch: Treat all animals with kindness and respect and you will get
kindness and respect in return. After the storm was over, Mr. Possum escorted
all the children to their homes and explained why they were late for supper. He
never felt better in his life, and had made many friends. Several months later,
Mr. Possum died quietly in his sleep in his new big log, dreaming of all the
children who were his friends. He knew he was the luckiest possum in the world,
and the children knew that he had loved them all.
Image: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/bob--o/P1010183.jpg
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