On Being an Alarm
The mouse went running across the floor. I was laying in bed and could hear the little patter of its mouse pads. I looked over to the floor and saw streaks of gray shooting from one place to another.
I said, “Hey, mouse.”
The mouse stopped. Its eyes darted in all directions. Its breathing was quick. The mouse said, “What?!”
I said, “Why are you running? I have no intention of hurting you.”
The mouse said, “Yes, but what if there was a cat.”
I said, “I have none.”
The mouse said, “Okay, well, but what if one found its way in here? You can’t over guess the mind of a cat.”
I said, “I’m very allergic to cats. If one even stuck its head in here I wouldn’t be able to stop sneezing. You can use me as your cat alarm.”
The mouse said, “Okay…Would it be okay if I watched some TV?”
I said, “No, it will keep me awake.”
The mouse said, “Well, then I’m not sure what to do?”
I raised my sheets. The mouse climbed the side of the bed and got under the sheets with me. We spooned and fell fast asleep.
Around 2 am I woke with a sneezing fit. I looked around and saw a tabby cat sniffing the bedroom floor. I felt for the mouse. It had climbed into my pajama top pocket. It could feel its little body trembling. I got up out of bed and chased the cat out of the bedroom. The cat jumped up on the couch and darted out the open living room window, which I was certain I’d closed when I went to bed last night. I closed the window and locked it.
I looked down into the pocket and said to the mouse, “I’m so sorry to have doubted you. Are you okay?”
The mouse said, “Yes, thanks. Wow, you were right about your allergies. Once I heard you sneeze, I thought, “CAT!!!” and hid in your pocket.”
We were both pretty wired from the excitement, so we had some cheese to help us calm down.
"[T]he little patter of its mouse pads"–nice play on words!