Edgar Mouse was very excited. He was going to visit his sister Polly for Christmas. He was a field mouse, but Polly had moved into town and was now a house mouse. She was renting space in a multi-species dwelling. There was a strict no-intimidation, no-eating policy among the residents.

Several of the residents were having friends and family stop by for the holidays, so Polly gave Edgar directions directly to her space to ensure there wouldn’t be any problems with the other guests. As Edgar got near, he tried to remember what she had said.

“Hmm. I know there was something about direction. Was it Go to the west, that’s always best? or Avoid the beast. Go to the east? or Dragon’s mouth is in the South? No, that one’s silly. She doesn’t live with dragons. I don’t remember. Now what should I do?

Edgar walked around the house, looking in the windows. He didn’t see Polly anywhere. There was a big front door. That couldn’t possibly be right. He wandered around a bit more. Something smelled delicious. He was so preoccupied with the smell that he didn’t notice the small crack in the wall.

“That must be what I’m looking for! It’s perfectly mouse-sized. I’ll just sneak in and surprise Polly.”

Edgar squeezed into the crack. To his surprise, it opened up into a large dining room. He sat on his haunches for a couple of minutes looking around. What was that delicious aroma? Something was baking. He started to follow the smell. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his tail. He looked back and was horrified to see a rather large tabby cat with its paw on his tail.

The Tabby was looking at Edgar and grinning.

“Hello, mouse. Would you like to play?”

Edgar shook his head, terrified. The cat let him go. He ran away, but was cornered by a tortie. This cat batted at him a couple of times, but didn’t really seem interested in hurting him. The tabby picked him up in his mouth and looked around. Edgar squirmed and the cat let him go.

For several minutes, the two cats and Edgar “played.” He was looking for an escape. Every time Edgar tried to run, one of the cats would put a paw on him. They never hurt him, but Edgar was terrified. Finally, he hid under a cabinet and tried to figure out how to escape. The cats had him cornered there.

Suddenly, the big door opened. The cats were distracted, and Edgar raced out the door. Finally, he was safe again. But where was Polly? He looked around, afraid to approach the house again. He heard someone calling his name.

“Edgar! Edgar! Where are you?”

Edgar: Polly! Is that you?

Polly: Oh my goodness, Edgar! I was so worried. Are you okay?

Edgar: Polly! I’m so glad I found you. I had a terrible adventure. There were two cats who had me trapped.

Polly: You’re lucky you got out. My place is on the other side of the house. The cat I live with heard what was going on. He’s the one who opened the door so you could escape.

Edgar: You live with a cat?

Polly: Oh, yes. There are a couple of cats, a family of guinea pigs, a capybara, and a gorilla. There’s also a Bernese Mountain Dog who watches over us all,

Edgar: Will I be safe there?

Polly: Absolutely. Just follow me. Like I said, “west is best”. If we go in the west door, my space is just inside.

Edgar followed her in. It was very cozy. After all the excitement, he was very tired and took a long nap before meeting the rest of the housemates. They welcomed him, and Edgar had a very enjoyable Christmas.

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.