The Mouse and The Pine

Chaos ensues when a field mouse takes control of a pine tree that the other animals need to survive.

Long ago, in the days before Man had entered the great forest, there stood a pine. A lone pine out in the middle of a prairie which had no earthly business being there. Yet the pine stood tall and strong with sturdy bark, shiny green needles, and perfect scales on its cones.

The animals of this world had no clue how the pine got there but they adored it nonetheless. The wolves would use it as shade in the summer, calling themselves on the hottest days. The bison would nibble on its low-hanging needles and cones. The birds of the sky would nest on it for miles around. Life abounded from this one, single tree that for all accounts should not even be there.

One day, when no one was around, a field mouse approached the pine and decided to make his home in it. The mouse chewed at the bark, ate the cones, and even started gnawing at the roots and branches. It wasn't long before the bark started to grow sap, the needles began to brown, and the cones began to lose their perfect scales.

The animals of the prairie knew that if they didn't do something, the pine would never survive the winter. So they all decided that the mouse must be evicted.

First, they sent the badger, the strongest and most ferocious of diggers to evict the mouse from his hollow under the tree. The mouse, however, had gnawed away tunnels inside the tree, far out of reach of even the badger's mighty paws. The badger soon gave up and retreated.

Next, the animals sent the woodpecker, whose long tongue could easily reach the mouse. But the mouse had wedged himself in deep, where even the woodpecker could not grab him. The woodpecker stayed there for three days before hunger and exhaustion got the best of her, and she had to retreat.

The animals lamented. With winter approaching, they would certainly lose the tree. It was around this time, however, that the most unlikely creature happened upon the prairie: a blue racer snake. She had been traveling far to find a good shelter to hibernate in for the winter months. When she heard of the predicament the other animals were in, she dropped her search and offered them a deal. She would remove the mouse from the tree and in return, she would be allowed to live in the hollow at the base of the trunk.

Now, most animals have a distinct distrust of snakes. They appear lazy and don't do any work unless it benefits them.

"The mouse can go deep into the tunnels it has carved in the tree," the badger said, "What makes you think you can get in there?"

"I am a snake, sir," said the racer, "I can squeeze into many places."

"The mouse is fast. Fast enough to dodge me," the woodpecker stated. "Do you think you can catch him?"

"Racers are known for being fast," said the racer, "I can catch him easily."

Finally, an old bison approached the young snake. "How do we know you won't hurt the tree?"

"Why on Earth would I do that?" She said. "I have nothing to gain from hurting the tree."

The old bison looked around at the other animals. They weren't sure of this little racer that might as well have fallen from the sky with her sudden arrival. She did make a good point though. If any animal could catch the mouse and rive it out, it was probably her. The bison nodded in approval and the racer made her way to the tree.

The animals all gathered around as she calmly slid into the hollow at the base of the tree. So the animals waited. And waited. And waited for nearly three days. Winter was almost upon them and they began to accept that the tree was lost. They had failed. As they began to walk away solemnly, however, a noise caught their ears.

Scuttling. Scratching. Hissing. Squeaking. Moving closer, higher. Getting louder, clearer. Until suddenly, something shot out of the bark of the pine and landed in the field. It was the mouse! The second his paws hit the ground, he started running for the horizon, squeaking all the way long. The other animals looked on, stunned. When they turned back, all they saw was a little blue racer slithering out of the tree bark.

The animals cheered! Their beloved pine had been saved. They all congratulated the racer on her success and pledged to hold up their end of the bargain. The tree was now hers. The pine survived the winter and came back with ferocity the following spring. The animals have seen several more field mice try to take the tree but when they entered, nothing happened. The tree simply stood tall with sturdy bark, shiny green needles, and perfect scales on its cones. And they knew that they owed it all to the most unlikely creature imaginable.