The Mouse Story by Suzanne
The Mouse Story contains language not suitable for young children. Parental Discretion is Advised.
Chapter Forteen
Morty Mouse removed his shoes and placed them neatly against the wall, while Mother Mouse went to the kitchen to pour them both a cup of hot tea.
"Come sit with me, Morty," Mother Mouse said as she patted the couch cushion beside her.
"Am I in trouble?" Morty asked cautiously.
"No, Son, you're not in trouble," Mother Mouse said smiling. "Now come sit down and drink your tea."
Morty grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch beside his mother.
"Morty, I just spoke to Uncle Sal. I told him that we won't be moving in with them after all."
Morty's eyes grew wide as Mother Mouse continued to speak.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking these last two days, Morty...... and I decided that your father would have wanted us to stay here"
"We're not leaving?" Morty asked, looking confused.
"This is our home.... and this is where we belong," Mother Mouse said as she sipped her tea.
"So..... I don't have to leave the baby??????????????"
"No..... you don't have to leave the baby," Mother Mouse grinned.
Morty jumped up off the couch and began dancing around the room.
"Yeah..... we're not leaving!!!!!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT, LITTLE ONE?" he screamed as he stuck his head out the door. "I'M NOT GOING AWAY!!!! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!! I'M GOING TO STAY WITH YOU FOREVER AND EVER!!!!"
Mother Mouse stood up laughing and motioned for Morty to come back and sit beside her again. Morty was so happy that he danced all the way over to the couch.
"We're not gonna leave....... we're not going anywhere," he chanted, again and again.
"I thought that news might make you a little happier," Mother Mouse said, smiling. "You know..... your father built this home all by himself, Morty. He wanted his family to have a nice, safe home."
"We do have a nice safe home," Morty said as he curled up into his mother's lap.
"Yes..... we do," said Mother Mouse as she wiped away a tear. "Your father made sure of that. He was a good man."
"And a good father," Morty added.
"Yes..... he was a VERY good father," said Mother Mouse.
"I really miss him," said Morty, as he cuddled in closer to his mother.
"Me too," cried Mother Mouse as she wrapped her arms around her son. "I miss him so much!"
"Mother......... What's going to happen to the baby?"
"What do you mean, Morty?" asked Mother Mouse.
"Well......... he doesn't have a........well......... I mean........ his mother and father aren't doing a very good job making a safe home for him......."
Morty sat up and looked his mother straight in the eye.
"Mother...... I've been spending a lot of time watching the baby, and he's.... well.... he's been hurting himself a lot lately."
"I know, Morty....... he really hurt himself bad today with all of that pounding."
"No....... it's not just that," Morty said sadly. "He's been doing some other things too..... other things that worry me."
"What other things Morty," Mother Mouse asked. "What kind of things is he doing?"
"Well....... when he gets mad he throws himself flat on the floor and screams...... and then sometimes he got so mad that he started kicking stuff...... and throwing stuff around. Yesterday........ yesterday he pulled out a handful of his own hair...... and bit himself on his arm. Why is he doing this, Mother? Why is he hurting himself?"
There was a long silence as Mother Mouse quietly sipped away at her tea. After she had taken her last sip, she reached over and neatly placed the cup inside the saucer.
"Morty....... there are many things in this life that are going to happen..... things we may never understand. Unfortunately...... not every child born into this world will have good parents. Little One just happens to be one of those unfortunate children."
"But...... they're his parents...... shouldn't they just love him and take good care of him just because they're his parents," Morty asked sadly.
"One might think that it would work that way, Morty. But like I said.... sometimes things happen that are just way beyond our ability to understand."
"He deserves to have a mother and father that take good care of him."
"Yes, Morty..... all children deserve to have parents that take good care of them."
"So...... why does God give babies to mothers and fathers who don't love them?"
Mother Mouse thought about that question for a very long time before answering.
"Morty, I believe that ALL mothers and fathers love their babies. It's just that some mothers and fathers have special problems that keep them from being able to properly care for their children."
"What kind of special problems?" Morty asked curiously.
"Well...... with some parents, I believe that there may have been something missing when they were growing up... sort of like a big hole in their heart.... and it left parts of them hurting really bad. So.... in order to stop the hurt.... sometimes they might use things that aren't good for them... like drugs or alcohol. They seem to think that those things will help drive away the pain... or help to cover up the hurt. But, I really think that these bad habits sometimes start to consume them... and it just makes it harder for them to properly love or care for their own children."
"I'm going to be a GOOD father when I grow up," Morty said proudly. "I'm going to feed my babies when they're hungry...... and change their diapers when they're dirty. And..... when they get scared and cry...... I'm going to pick them up and hold them so close that they'll never....... ever...... be scared again.
"I know you will, Morty," Mother Mouse said smiling. "You're going to be an absolutely wonderful father someday."
