Sir Fivel tucked himself away
soon after we arrived at the motel that afternoon, curling up inside one of my
fluffy black slippers. I was relieved to know he was safe now and that we’d get
him back home to his family on the morrow.
So leaving him to rest and
recuperate from his adventures, we made ourselves a quick supper and then headed
back for the night service.
Later, we sat snug in our
jammies, there in our little suite, sipping bedtime tea. I’d left my slippers
where they sat earlier, assuming the weary mouse-gentleman was still asleep.
While my daughter and I
discussed the highlights of the day, I noticed a dark-something inching its way
through the bedroom door—one black slipper propelling itself across the floor!
Further investigation revealed two little mouse feet trudging along—step-tug-step,
the slipper held high above his head, the rest of him hidden beneath it.
“Sir Fivel!” I exclaimed, more
shrilly than I meant to.
The slipper tipped over on its
side and a woeful whiskered face appeared... “Sorry Ma’am… I didn’t mean to
sleep so long and take your slipper from you. I meant to get it back to you…”
He tugged on his vest to straighten it, then folding his hands across his
rotund little belly he continued.
“Guess you want the story now,
huh? Well, you see, Ma’am… I was collecting spider webs for Fivelina the other
afternoon, she uses them to baste her Oak Leaf quilts, you know, and I saw
these fluffy black slippers hanging on your clothesline. I was so tired, I
thought I’d just slip into one for a short nap. I had no idea you were planning
to pack them for your trip! You don’t usually wear these, do you?”
I shook my head. “No, you’re
right, Fivel… I only wear them when I’m traveling.”
He scratched his head in
confusion. “Ohhhh…”
“Go on…” I encouraged.
“Well, next thing I knew I was
stuck inside this dark, stuffy place and couldn’t get out. It was so black in
there, and for such a long time. I tried and tried to get out, but couldn’t
find a way. Soon the whole place began moving, I tumbled around and bumped into
things, and still it was so dark! I heard engine sounds and felt that we were
moving for hours. Oh Ma’am, I was dreadful scared!”
Yep. I surely had left those
slippers on the line overnight. Who would’ve thought!
“You were in the slipper when
I packed them into the suitcase. Oh dear. I’m so sorry, Fivel. I never would’ve
thought to check. And yes, it would’ve been mighty dark in that suitcase, and
you’d surely get an awful jouncing when Papa Hare loaded the luggage in the
trunk. Yes, it must’ve been a terribly long hard trip stuck in there in the
dark. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that!”
He jumped up on the arm of the
chair, patting my hand soothingly. “Oh no, Ma’am. It’s entirely my fault. I
should never have snuck into that slipper in the first place.”
He searched my face for
understanding, then kindly added, “Would you like your slippers now, Ma’am?”
“Thank you, no…” I assured
him. I’ve nice warm socks on and I don’t need them right now. Do you feel like telling me how you got over
to the convention today?”
He blushed slightly. “Well,
that’s even more embarrassing, Ma’am. Are you sure you want to know?”
I nodded encouragingly.
“Well, I stayed here in your
motel the first day, and it was so lonely and I was feeling so worried for
Fivelina—what she must be thinking when I didn’t come home that night! I
thought if I just stayed quiet and didn’t bother anyone, I could hop into your
purse and ride home unnoticed, and no one would ever know of my foolishness.
But when I saw you were staying for Friday too, I couldn’t bear staying here
alone all day. So I crept into the pocket of your tote-bag so I could go with
you to wherever you were going. If I’d
just stayed near you, it would’ve been fine, but I wandered around a bit, you
see…” He wrung his hands anxiously with the memory.
“And then I couldn’t find you
or the tote-bag anywhere. I looked and looked, but there were just so many
strange feet and noisy people. Then everyone left, and it was so dark in there
when they shut off all the lights that night. I spent the night under some
stranger’s chair-pad…”
I murmured in sympathy. “Well, I’m
glad you finally found me, and hey, that was pretty slick finding your way
to the tote-bag through all the feet while everyone was praying!”
He grinned slightly and then
chortled. Now have you ever heard a mouse chortle? It’s a most delightful
little sound actually, and it was a relief to see him more light-hearted now.
“Well, here’s the plan. We
have one more service tomorrow morning, and then we leave for Hare Hollow. Don't be getting into my suitcase, okay? You can find a much more comfortable place for the ride home."
He rode home with us, snugly
tucked into a fluffy black slipper that surely didn’t get put in the suitcase
that time.
And oh the reunion at
MouseHouse! You can only imagine!
