THE MOUSETOWN CHRONICLES
Welcome to Mousetown
Perils at Mousetown
Making Amends
Changes
Boys Will Be Boys!
Will She, Won't She
I don't know where Mousetown is! Did I ever? - that is anyone's guess!
Welcome to Mousetown - a quaint English village with houses for mice and men.
You won't find it on Google or anywhere else, so please don't waste your time looking for it. Only two people always know where it is - with tenants forgetting the location after a month or two.
Mousetown is unique - stone houses for humans, with stone staircases on the outside and inside of human occupation, These latter were generally only used in emergencies or by the mice who couldn't cope with the weather and space was already limited.
An emergency had been caused by many mice coming for shelter when their houses had been demolished by floods and heavy rain. It wasn't always easy to cater for lots of mice, but they managed to find somewhere to stay if only for a week.
There had been plans to add 25 new free-standing houses for the mice, but the number had had to be changed to 50 - with more to come when the risk of heavy rain was over. Luckily there was a window of 10-14 days of dry weather to come when construction could be undertaken. An ambitious plan for such a short time, but all were sure that providing the weather, didn't change it could be managed - just!
As the building work was completed there was an unforeseen happenstance which didn't bode well for any mouse at all!
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Perils at Mousetown
For as long as anymouse could remember, the houses of Mousetown had been safe from predators and other dangers - except for floods, of course! However there had been an alarming change in conditions and everyone was affected.
Mousetown has two areas, one outdoors and the other indoors, with direct access between the two. Everymouse was free to decide where to live. There was no rivalry, they knew that they were safe from predators - or they had been. The last tenant of the stone houses had recently moved away, and the new one brought two cats with her. [All the other stone houses had been changed to accommodate mice in emergencies and were full.]
The cats had, of course, investigated the house and discovered the inside part of Mousetown, but hadn't shown any interest in the mice. The main problem was a possible attack, so the inside part of Mousetown was very quiet, the residents spending as much time outside as they could. It wasn't ideal, they discussed all their options but found no easy solutions. There were no empty houses at all, except for those the scared mice had vacated.
The new human contacted the previous tenant, being puzzled about the mice refusing to access the indoor houses, explaining what had happened. At the end of the call, she mentioned the cats and was so upset when told they were the problem. However, she was very willing to change the situation. After a few failed attempts to solve the problem, Katy asked a family member to take them - a good solution all round!
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Making Amends
After all the 'excitements', life in Mousetown returned to normal. Until one of several baby mice born just after the building boom developed a nasty rash all over her body and fevers. Her littermates were feverish, but had no signs of a rash. The adults were puzzled as they had never seen anything like it in the past.
Katy thought she could help the mice by taking the mouseling to the Vet clinic, and see if they could find the cause. After many hours of discussion, the whole population were keen to have help for the baby. However, they were most anxious for the mouseling not to talk to the Vet - or any human at all - they didn't want outsiders to learn of their linguistic talents.
The appointment with the Vet was very interesting all round! After many samples were taken and tested for this, that and the other, everything was ruled out. However, the Vet discovered a small amount of concrete in the pet carrier and soon discovered it was the cause of her problems. Suitsable medicine and ointment were prescribed, and strict instructions for Katy on cleaning out everywhere the mouseling went to prevent a recurrence.
Returning to Mousetown they found everymouse waiting the news. At the end of the account, two mice stepped forward to take responsibility for the illness. They had seen a snail urinating on the cement they were using and had not known it was poisonous. As the baby was recovering already, she forgave them and said she hoped everymouse would be more careful in future - and refused to let anyone punish the workers.
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Changes
The new houses in Mousetown had been well received, but there was a problem with the location - heavy flooding of the river spread further than ever before.
An emergency meeting was held to discuss what could be done as a temporary fix - and permanent solution. The mice felt very comfortable with Katy, and invited her to all their meetings. Once again, she was able to help them out, having been friendly with an architect for several years and was able to come up with several solutions. After telling the mice to use her house, Katy went shopping and returned with several boxes and bags, which she left in her car overnight. The next morning they went to the flood area and Katy used a special gadget to test the extent of the floodwater. There was no point in building anything there - or within 10 feet. Fortunately the news was good, so work could start immediately on laying the foundations. As they went to collect their tools, Katy stopped them, and brought out the items from her car. Some she put to one side, the rest were opened and, to the excitement of everymouse, there were toy machines which would save them from the hard work. Excavators, cement mixers, and lots of other equipment were so helpful that they could start more houses than they could have done by hand. Some of the flooded houses were so lightly damaged that they could be lifted off their bases and transferred to the new site.
There was a problem in that new houses wouldn't be available immediately and nomouse wanted to be too crowded - building a house was tiring and space was needed to get a good night's sleep. Katy saw this and unwrapped the other items she had brought, the mouselings couldn't believe what they were seeing - doll-sized caravans, tents, etc. Although there was no working cooking equipment, the mice were quite happy to allocate one house for communal cooking, with items provided by Katy.
Despite her bad beginning, she was now a treasured member of the community, and it was hoped Katy would be able to stay there permanently. Would she? Stay tuned for further news - your guess is as good as mine!
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Boys will be Boys!
After the new houses were complete and inhabited, some of the mouselings were making plans to have some fun, using the equipment now stored in Katy's house. One mouseling refused to join in their antics, but said she would not tell anyone about it. She had been saved by the Vet, and was grateful that Katy had helped her out. The others knew she would not inform anyone of their plans, unless asked specifically.
However, one who had recently moved to Mousetown with his parents, was known to be a troublemaker, and everyone hoped they would move away soon. Indeed, his parents were tired of his behaviour and really wanted to stay where they were. Their son was determined to leave as his idea of a suitable place to live was in a town or city - where he thought, quite erroneously, that mice were more respected, especially mouselings.
Little did he know that all of the adults, including his parents, were making plans to have him visit some city mice for a month and see firsthand exactly how life really was there. Fortunately he was taken away before he could cause any serious trouble in Mousetown, and the mouselings who had planned to have fun with the equipment realised it wasn't such a good idea after all!
Everyone was enjoying the peace and quiet, although the elders were worried about possible consequences from sending him away. However, three weeks' later a very subdued mouseling returned and apologised to each and every mouse for his previous behaviour. He had had several narrow escapes from rats, cats and some people, and those made him realise it was better - and safer - to be good. Everymouse was pleased to see that his experiences had caused such a big change and, after the first week he was officially welcomed back home.
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Will She? Won't She?
It had been nine months since Katy had moved to Mousetown and everymouse was waiting for news about her future tenancy. There had been a special bond for most of the time, and Katy had even sent her cats away to stop any problem from them. Without her help Mousetown would be a shadow of its former self - probably even abandoned with all the flooding.
Katy knew the mice were wondering if she would stay or go when the tenancy agreement expired. It had been difficult to decide but, the fact the cats were very happy where they were, helped her to make the best decision for mice and herself. The rent was very low, partly because of the distance to towns and cities alike and the rent would remain at the same level for as long as she wished to stay there. Or so she had thought! In fact the mice were worried without cause - she had signed a document in which she became the houseowner for a nominal amount.
The solicitor who dealt with Mousetown affairs had been approached by the elders to see if there was a way to keep Katy there for the near future - and beyond. Fortunately the solicitor had been instructed by Mousetown's human owner to find someone suitable to take over everything; both the owner and solicitor both knew of the sacrifices Katy had made, and the deep friendship between rodents and human. Together they decided to offer her the ownership of houses and land for a low sum - one peppercorn.
The offer made, they awaited Katy's response, knowing it could change everything. If she didn't accept, there was every likelihood that Mousetown would be demolished as developers were keen to own all the land and build up the area for housing for people - cheap housing! The important meeting had been arranged, the time set and only three humans needing to know what the future would bring. Katy arrived slightly early, with a large parcel. Once the pleasantries had been made, Katy opened the parcel, making the two people laugh out loud. Inside were a baker's dozen of large peppercorns [13], which fell on the desk and floor.
There was also a signed contract for ownership, and her agreement to find a replacement owner in due course. Katy was asked if she missed her cats, laughing she said 'who would want two selfish pets when there was a village full of mice with whom she could talk, help and enjoy'.
Trying not to let her feelings show, she returned to her house, Two mice were aware of her simmering excitement, and wondered what it was - they didn't know of the elders' meeting with the solicitor. Very soon thereafter a meeting was arranged, which was a very joyous occasion when the mice learnt that Katy was staying permanently - and they all enjoyed a feast she had brought.
The End
Virginia Kop
Kop's Kattery
February 2016
