The Mouse Story

On a cold city night there was a squeaky little mouse named Chillón
Ratón. Like most mice she loved cheese. Yellow cheese, white cheese, smelly
cheese, cheese with holes in it, it didn't matter to her. She loved it all.
One night while Chillón Ratón was walking down a street she smelled some
cheese coming from the other end of a dark alley. The alley was between a
restaurant and a deli. She knew that it wasn't safe to go down a dark alley
all alone. She tried to ignore the smell of the cheese but it was too
strong and it lured her in. She slipped into the shadows and made her way
towards the smell. She scurried along as quickly and as quietly as she
could. She followed the yummy scent of the cheese until the alley ended.
There, in the soft glow of a single flickering light was a round log of
cheese. Chillón Ratón glanced around quickly and then dashed out of her
shadowy protection and towards her delicious prize.
If she had taken her time surveying the area she would have noticed two
glowing eyes of a hungry alley cat watching her. The alley cat was Senor
Don Gato. This was not the first time Senor Don Gato had lured a mouse with
his cheese trick. Out came the little mouse with her eyes on the cheese.
Likewise, out came Senor Don Gato with his eyes on the mouse.
She had almost made it to the cheese when she noticed the large alley cat
racing towards her. Chillón Ratón quickly tried to change directions but
Senor Don Gato was a little faster. He cut off her escape and trapped her
in a corner. As Senor Don Gato was moving in for his meal Chillón Ratón
pleaded for her life. "My name is Chillón Ratón," she exclaimed. "I know
that you are hungry but trust me, you do not want to eat me."
Senor Don Gato kept creeping closer with every intention of making this
little mouse a quick meal. Out of politeness he responded to the mouse.
"Chillón Ratón," he addressed his prey, "I am Senor Don Gato the alley cat.
I am very hungry so I assure you that I do indeed want to eat you." His
smile widened as he took another step closer.
"No! No!," exclaimed Chillón Ratón, "what I meant was if you eat me you
will get your meal, but it will only be one meal. If you let me live I can
promise you as many meals as you want."
This did peak the interests of Senor Don Gato, but he was aware of the
trickeries of a fearful mouse with nothing to lose. He inquired, "Please do
tell of the limitless food that you speak of."
Chillón Ratón explained her plan. "Senor Don Gato, your alley is between
a restaurant and a deli. Both of those establishments loath mice. If you
let me go I will sneak into them, when the owners see me they will surely
be upset. That's when you come into the picture. You run in and snatch me
up in your mouth, ever so carefully," she added. "When the people see what
a great help you are to them they will reward you with scraps of food. What
I get for my role with this plan is one; I get to live, two; you give me a
portion of the scraps."
Senor Don Gato liked the sound of Chillón Ratón's plan. He decided that
even if it was a plan for her to escape it was worth the risk because of
the possible rewards. "Chillón Ratón," he addressed her, "I will take my
chances and trust you. Let us see what you can do," and he backed out of
the way allowing Chillón Ratón to pass by unharmed.
Chillón Ratón hurried over to the restaurant and made her way through a
small crack in the door. She scurried around inside the kitchen area until
someone noticed her. The person inside yelled springing Senor Don Gato into
action. He leapt through an open window and immediately spotted Chillon
Raton cornered again. Only this time instead of being trapped by an alley
cat she was now trapped by a frightened human with a broom. Senor Don Gato
raced across the floor scooping up the little mouse as gently as he could
in his mouth. Chillón Ratón fell limp as she lay hanging from the alley
cats mouth. The broom holder stopped yelling and went and opened the door
leading Senor Don Gato back out into his alley. He willingly exited laying
the still motionless mouse on the ground outside. The door stayed open
until the person returned with a bowl of food and a bowl of warm milk, just
like Chillón Raón had promised. The person patted Senor Don Gato on the
head and closed the door behind him.
As soon as the door clicked shut Chillón Ratón looked up at her new
partner and smiled. "Well, what do you think?" she asked the hungry cat.
"I think that you and I are going to be very good friends," Senor Don
Gato replied. The two sat together and ate their meal. It was the best meal
either of them had ever had. The next night it was the deli's turn and
things went just as planned again. Scurrying mouse, yelling person, heroic
cat, and a warm plate of food. From that day on the two of them were the
best of friends.
Told on Jan. 6, 2011