THE MOUSE AND THE ARROWROOT-BISCUIT (Childhood tales from another existence)

Me dad stuck to his guns. “It’s not a rat!” he insisted, “it’s a mouse. A rat would be much bolder!” “perhaps it’s a big mouse?” I suggested, just trying to be helpful. “Certainly not!” snapped me dad, “there’s no such thing as a big mouse!”

That night, to prove it wasn’t a rat, he left an arrowroot-biscuit on the kitchen-floor. Sure enough, next morning it was gone. “What did I tell you”, said me dad, “it’s as clear as fresh water! Tonight we’ll go one step further and kill it!” He sent me to the shop to buy some rat-poison. “That should kill it!” he decided, that night, leaving a poisoned arrowroot-biscuit on the kitchen-floor and going to bed as usual. The next morning it was gone. “Now we can rest in peace!” he breathed a sigh of relief, “there’ll be no more mice in this house, small or not!” And just to prove it that night he left another arrowroot-biscuit on the kitchen-floor.

But the next morning, to me dad’s consternation, it was gone. “perhaps the mouse isn’t dead?” I suggested, hoping me dad wasn’t about to lose his temper. “Either that or we didn’t use enough poison”, he grumbled, a little angry at being proved wrong. “Tonight we’ll trap it once and for all!” He sent me to the shop to buy a mousetrap. I came back with two in case one didn’t work. And that night he laid a trap with an arrowroot-biscuit on the kitchen-floor. In the morning the biscuit was gone but the trap wasn’t sprung. “I just don’t understand”, he groaned, ‘why on earth arrowroot!!???”

At that moment me mam came into the kitchen complaining that there were hardly any biscuits left for her tea. “In fact we don’t have any now!” she sighed, eyeing the mousetrap. Normally me dad would have sent me straight to the shop to buy some more, but he was still wondering why the trap hadn’t been sprung? “perhaps there isn’t a mouse after all?” suggested me mam, “if you’d stop leaving arrowroot-biscuits all over the place you’d soon see what I mean!”

And she was right. The proof was as plain as the nose on me dad’s face. I had to agree. “Well, It couldn’t have been a rat”, said me dad, “rats are just not that easily gotten rid of!!”