And once again The Sandman came
And said, ‘Listen Up, Kid…Here is
Something you should hear…

There was a house, just an average
Home…it could be anyone’s…
Where a man lived with his family.
It had all the modern conveniences
That people needed…and didn’t,

But this little story is not about
The people that lived in the house
Really, but what lived with them
Quietly and secretly within the
Walls, in the attic, in the basement…
All the places
That the people could not see…
A small family group of Mice.

Now these mice were very hardy
And thrifty, they had to be, as
Living was hard for mice. They hid
And foraged food and stored it
Away in their hiding places. They
Stole little odds and ends they found
That they could use…to stay warm,
To keep them safe, to keep them
Entertained. They were good survivalists,
And typically, very practical.

But as all living things, they had
Different dispositions and personalities…
Some were fun and friendly and
Easy going little mice…and some were
Mean, and bullied the other
Mice, they liked to control things.

One day, 3 of these pushy little
Mice sat by a hole that opened
To the human’s bedroom…And
They watched this big man sitting
At his desk staring at this odd
Glowing box as he tapped on the
Table top in front of him.

‘What’s he doing?’ One angry mouse
Said. ‘I’ve seen him sitting there
A LOT! He never moves…he just
Stares and stares at that glowing box
All the time.’

‘It must be important.’ His bully
Mouse friend said. “I bet he is
Planning to get more traps to kill us!’

‘He thinks he is so smart scheming,’
The third mouse said. ‘We see him,
Oh yes, we do! We see what he is
Doing! We’re not stupid like he
Thinks!’

‘We have to watch him then!’ The
Bully mouse said.’ We must watch
And study what is so important
About that box! It must contain
All the secrets of the world!’

So, the 3 mice stayed there, all
Day…and night, until the human
Fell asleep. They watched this
Man for days studying everything
He did…they had to know about
That box. And they groaned and
Grumbled, analyzing everything
And nothing…They never moved,
Like the human. And they ordered
The other mice to feed them because
They were doing important work
After all. Studying this human was
Life or death!
So then one day, one of the mice
That brought them food looked at
Them and said, ‘What are you doing?
All you do is watch him! You never
Do anything! You don’t know what
He is doing, you can’t even read! All
You do is complain and order us
Around!’

‘Oh, shut up!’ The Angry mouse said.
‘We’ve worked hard enough. We’re
Doing important work, we’re using
Our brains! You’re the stupid ones,
You’ll see…you’ll see how important
Our work is one day!’

‘He is conspiring against us! He
Is evil! All humans are evil! ‘The
Bully mouse said. ‘They just want
To kill us and control everything!
We’ll show them!’

‘You’re just sitting around complaining!
And you’re getting fat! The mouse
That fed them said. ‘You’re making
The rest of us mice miserable!’

‘Listen, you little idiot, you stupid
Little mouse, we are saving mice
Everywhere! The angry mouse shouted.
‘He is plotting night and day
Against us…we know he is, we know,
We know! That’s all they think about
Is us mice!’

‘We are the most important mice
In the world! We’re brilliant! The
Third, now really round mouse said.
‘Besides, we’ve worked hard enough,
We’ve suffered more than any of you!
You stupid ungrateful mice! Now
Go and get us more food and keep
Your stupid mouth shut!’

So, the mouse that fed them rolled
His eyes and scurried away back
To the other mice to get more food.

“What are they doing?’ One quiet
Little mouse asked. “They’re so mean,
They’re meaner than they’ve ever
Been, pushing us around. Why are
They watching that human all the
Time, is he really plotting to kill us
Like they said?’

And the rest of the mice gathered
Around, as the mouse that fed
Them said… ‘Look, they’re just
Being mean and nasty as always,
That’s nothing new. And they’re butts
Are getting so big and fat, soon they’ll
Never squeeze through that hole.
They don’t know anything, they
Can’t read, they can’t even read
Human words…They’re just finding
More reasons to complain and bully
Us around. Stop worrying. Keep
Doing what you always do. If you
See a trap, run away from it…If
You see poisoned or suspicious food, don’t
Eat…If you see their cat, Stay away
From it. Use your common sense. Just
Enjoy not having those bullies chasing
Us…go have fun. Stay away from
Them.’

‘They are really annoying.’ The quiet
Mouse said. ‘And so big and lazy. I
Swear if that bully mouse eats one
More piece of cheese, his belly is going
To pop! With all those holes
In that swiss cheese, you would think
Some of that would just fart right
Out of his rear end!’

‘Nah, he needs it for all holes
In his head.’ Another mouse said.
‘He is the greatest thinker you
Know!’ And all the mice laughed’
‘I want to go play in the garden!’

‘I want to go steal some cheese and
Eat myself!’ Another mouse said.

‘I want to go steal some more of
That thick cotton padding from his
Wife’s bra!’ Another mouse said.
‘I need it to keep myself warm!
She has enough other padded bras
To keep her chest warm! That
Woman must be freezing to death!’

‘There you go!’ The mouse that fed
Them said. ‘Go do your stuff. Just
Remember, if you see trouble, stay
Away from it. That’s all!’

So, the mice all smiled and scurried
About, and did what they usually
Did. They kept their eyes and ears
Open and they stayed away from
Trouble…And it wasn’t so bad…

But then the day came when the
Mice had enough of the 3 bullies,
So, they packed up their things, some
Food and plenty of padding from
The wife’s bra…and they left
For a quieter place, with no bullies.

A few days later, a scout mouse who
Returned to the house for his toy
Beads…ran up to his friends, and
Told the mouse that fed them…
‘You won’t believe this! Guess what
Happened to those 3 mice?’

‘What happened to them?’ The mouse
That fed them asked, as all the mice
Watched and listened with wide eyes.

‘For all that sitting and staring…
And watching that man…and
Being so smart saying they were
Saving mice everywhere…
The man’s cat snuck up behind
Them while they were arguing
And complaining…AND ATE THEM
ALL UP!’

And the mice gasped in shock. ‘That’s
Awful! That’s terrible!’

Then the mouse that fed them said…
‘Well, I guess they weren’t as smart
As they said they were…They didn’t
See anything at all…they were blind,
3 blind mice…and they
Argued and complained themselves
To death…’

And The Sandman said… ‘In peace,
Eyes and ears open…When trouble
Comes you’ll know!’

Valiant.

Source: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=102412