 Dave
tries his hand again at children's literature. A little heavy-handed,
perhaps, for children. And it definitely needs an illustrator.
Alfi,
Beti, Gema and Del didn't know quite what to do. They had always relied
on their mother ('always' being the three weeks since they had been
born) for food, warmth and protection. And now, shortly after their
father had been eaten by a house cat, they had watched in horror as an
owl had swooped down and carried off their mother just as she was
returning with some seeds and insects for them. At first, they just
howled, at least as much as baby field mice can do that, in the remote
hope that perhaps some other parent would happen along and take care of
them. Then, when it became clear that that wasn't going to happen, Gema
and Del looked at Alfi and Beti to take charge and tell them what to
do.
"We know how to find grass, and water down by the pond,
but that's not enough -- we need other stuff to eat", said Alfi. "I'll
be the guinea pig, and try out various foods first, and if I survive
and my breath smells like Mom's did when she fed us, we'll know they're
OK." Alfi's siblings laughed at the thought of Alfi as a guinea pig --
guinea pigs are much bigger than field mice.
"And
I think we should move our nest deeper into the brush", said Beti.
"It's too exposed out here with no adults to protect us, and it will be
warmer, because we'll have to huddle together to keep warm now since Mom
can't do it."
Gema and Del seemed unconvinced. "We need to look for another Mom", said Gema. "We're not old enough to look after ourselves."
"Well
we'll stay here and keep the nest, and you two go and look for new
parents", said Alfi. "If you find some, come back and tell us and we'll
join you. If not, come back and we'll try to take care of ourselves
together."
So that's what they did. Gema and Del timidly rushed
through the underbrush sniffing and searching for some new parents.
They saw some spring peeper frogs, and some rabbits, and even a pair of
scary raccoons, but none of them seemed to be suitable parents.
Finally
they gave up and returned to their nest. Beti had pulled the nest
deeper into the brush, and Alfi had lined up many strange things beside
the nest, and was nibbling each one in turn. After he did so, Beti
would sniff his breath, announce "good" or "no good", and haul the rest
of the "good" foods to the edge of the nest. Then they all went down to
the pond for a drink, came back and finished off the "good" foods and
settled into the nest for a sleep -- it would soon be daylight, with
many dangers for little field mice, so that's when field mice go to
their nests and rest, building up strength for the next night's work
and adventures.
When they woke that night, they immediately went
to work making a cache of "good" foods. It was hard work, and half way
through the night Alfi announced "Dad told me that the house where the
people live, with their cat and their dog, has all kinds of delicious
food just waiting to be taken. There are bags of nuts bigger than our
nest, and it's easy to avoid the traps. And Squirrel told me that they
have a bag of seeds in there as big as two raccoons! I'm going to get
some of that food and bring it back here."
Beti was alarmed. "The people's cat ate our Dad. It's far too dangerous", she said. "We're getting good at finding our own food, here, where it's safe. This is what field mice do."
But
Alfi was could not be talked out of his plan. As his brother and
sisters watched, Alfi sniffed out the trail to the people's house and
disappeared from sight.
Two hours later there was a great
commotion. One of the people from the house was carrying Alfi down to
the pond! He was stuck fast to some glue on a piece of cardboard the
human was carrying, and crying piteously. As his siblings watched in
horror, the human began to pour oil over poor Alfi. With the oil, the
glue lost its hold and Alfi fell into the brush beside the pond and
scurried out of sight. The human made complaining noises and returned
to the house.
When it was safe, Alfi returned to the nest,
shaking and crying. "Well, that was embarrassing", he said. "Help me
get this glue and oil off me. I'm still sticking to everything". His
siblings helped clean him up.
"Let that be a lesson to you",
said Beti. "That house and the people in it are dangerous. They are
apart from us. We are not meant to be where they are, and they aren't
meant to be where we are."
A week later, they met another family
of mice, their own age, who told them about a great Eden for mice that
was only a day's scurry from the pond. "It's called a wheat field",
said Maxi mouse, the biggest mouse in that family. "Nothing but food as
far as you can see, all planted neatly in rows for us to harvest
easily."
But Beti would not hear of moving to the wheat field. "It's another human creation, and it will be another trap", she said.
And
she was right. A short time later Maxi mouse and his sister Noni mouse
came by with a sad story. "A giant machine came and cut down the wheat
field, dug up all the soil, and crushed all the mice and other
creatures living there. We two were down at the pond, so we were the
only survivors. Can we come and live with you?"
And so life went
on for the field mice family. One night a fox came down to the pond
where they were drinking and washing, and Beti bravely drew the fox
away from the rest of her family, and gave her life as a sacrifice to
save the others. And shortly after that, poor Del was chasing a moving
piece of grass that turned out to be a snake, and which turned around
and ate him in one gulp!
Maxi and Gema decided to become mates,
as did Alfi and Noni, and soon there were two new families of baby
field mice to look after. One night, as the new parents were foraging
for food while the babies slept nearby, they were talking about life,
and how short it was.
"It almost seems pointless", said Gema.
"All these babies, and chances are a year from now our family of field
mice living by this pond won't be any bigger than it is now. Most of
us, or our babies, will be eaten by larger animals or caught as food
for their babies. What is the purpose of it all?"
"You
just explained the purpose", said Noni. "Except for the humans, who do
not understand or follow the rules, we are all one. The foxes, the
snakes, the owls, the raccoons, the frogs, the squirrels, the rabbits,
the little bugs we eat, even the grasses and the trees. The deaths of
some of each of us are necessary for the life of the rest. It keeps our
place in balance, and healthy, and at peace. When we are born we are
part of this whole amazing community of life, and when we die we are
still a part of it, like a giant circle that just goes around and
around and never ends."
"Very wise", said Alfi. "Just look, and
listen, and smell, and taste, and touch, and feel the buzz of life
everywhere, even here in the dark with many creatures sleeping! It's
magical. This is our Eden, our perfect place. How foolish we were when we were younger not to realize it!"
"Enough chatter", said Maxi. "Back to work. These babies will be waking soon, and complaining that they're hungry."
The
four adults looked at the two nests of babies, huddled together and
squirming, smiled, and continued gathering a breakfast for twelve. |
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
