Further Chronicles of a Mouse: a prequel

My mouse story yesterday reminded me of the mouse about three months ago. Just when we were getting ready to show the house we started seeing signs that mice had taken up residence in our house. Danny saw one run across the room, and holes started appearing in food containers.

It was again the middle of the night, and I got up for a drink. Returning to my room, something ran across my foot on the way back in the dark. I jumped and hoped that it got the message it was unwanted and went back out the way it came.

I was almost back to sleep with my feet outside my sheets when again, something ran across my feet! I really kicked that time, but I was too sleepy to get out of bed and try to do something about it. Not that I had any idea of what to do anything. I hoped it wouldn't chew on my shoes.

I was woken out of sound sleep not long after by very loud gnawing sound. That mouse was chewing on a piece of wood somewhere in my room! The noise and my perterbation of mind would not allow me to go completely to sleep.

I fished for something unbreakable from my bedside table. I threw a stuffed animal at my door. The sound stopped and I almost fell asleep before it started. Several pens, notebooks, and even a book followed Eeyore, but the space of quiet grew smaller after each one. I finally covered my head with my pillow and slept the best I could. (Don't ask why I didn't turn on the light or open the door. I was mostly asleep and not thinking clearly!)

The gnawing continued for at least an hour and probably more like two or three. Finally morning began and my parents woke up. My mom opened the door and asked me what that noise was.

"A mouse chewing on something," I answered sleepily.

She exclaimed over it and shut the door. I waited with some anxiety for the chewing sound to start again, but it never did.

A couple of hours later I woke up again feeling slightly better rested. When I got up a mess greeted my eyes. About an inch up and running parallel with the bottom of the door was a foot long and inch wide groove of pale wood! Under it my carpet was covered with wood shavings.

That mouse must have been just as happy as I was when Mom opened that door!

That mouse's end of residency was not as merciful as last night's. We set several traps and caught one invader. There have been no other signs of other inhabitants until yesterday.