The Mouse in the Towel Basket

The Mouse in the Towel Basket

Once, in a small cottage, lived an old woman and an old man. They got along well, worked in their garden, and sat by the fire in the evening. But sometimes they felt lonely. “If only we had someone small,” sighed the old woman, “someone we could tell stories to.” “And someone to greet us when we come home from work,” added the old man. One day, they decided to walk along different paths and see whether they met anyone who needed a home. The old man returned with a little puppy. The old woman returned with a tiny gray mouse. “Look how lively she is,” said the old woman. “And the puppy is very cheerful,” said the old man. They talked it over and decided that the puppy would be happiest with the shepherd next door, where there was plenty of open space. The mouse would stay in the cottage with them. So the old woman and old man had a little helper. They called her Mouse, as if it were her real name. Mouse was curious. She knew where the grain was kept, where apples were drying, where a ball of yarn was hidden, and she even learned to tap a spoon when she wanted to remind them about supper. One morning, the old woman set a pot of sour milk porridge on the fire. “Mouse, please sit here. If the porridge begins to bubble over, squeak loudly.” Mouse nodded very seriously. The old woman and old man went out to the garden. At first, everything was quiet. Then the porridge bubbled. Bubble, bubble. Louder. Bubble, bubble, bubble! A drop jumped over the edge and landed right in front of Mouse. “Squeak, squeak! Do not be naughty!” she cried. Of course, the porridge did not listen. Another drop plopped onto the edge of the stove. Mouse decided she could manage by herself. She ran to the spoon and pushed it with her paws. But the spoon tipped over and clattered so loudly that Mouse was startled. She slipped and fell straight into a large basket of clean towels beside the stove. The towels covered her completely. Just then, the old woman and old man returned home. “Mouse!” called the old woman. Silence. “Mouse, we are back!” No one answered. They looked beneath the bench, behind the chest, in the pantry, and by the door. No Mouse. Meanwhile, the porridge had bubbled away until the top was smooth and still. “Oh dear,” whispered the old woman. “What if she fell into the pot?” The old man turned pale. They were so worried that the old man grabbed his beard and the old woman clutched her scarf. “It is my fault!” cried the old woman. “I should not have left her near a hot pot!” The old man ran outside to bring water. A magpie sat on a branch. “Caw-caw-caw! Why do you look so rumpled?” asked the magpie. “Our Mouse has disappeared! We are afraid something happened to her!” The magpie was so distressed that she fluttered about and lost a feather. “Oh!” she cried. “Now I have suffered from this sad tale as well!” Meanwhile, the old woman hurried to the well. A girl with a water jug stood there. “Grandmother, why are you in such a hurry?” “Our Mouse has disappeared!” The girl was so surprised that she nearly dropped her jug. She caught it at the last moment, but splashed water all over her feet. “Well, now I am wet because of your adventure!” she exclaimed. A neighbor heard it, and told the baker. The baker told the blacksmith, and the blacksmith told the guard at the palace gate. Within an hour, the whole village had heard that something extraordinary had happened to the old woman and old man. Meanwhile, the basket of towels in the cottage began to move. First a tiny pink nose appeared. Then two ears. Then all of Mouse. “Squeak!” she said indignantly. The old woman froze. “Mouse!” The old man dropped his bucket and lifted the little runaway into his palm. “Where have you been?” Mouse pointed one paw at the basket. The old woman looked inside and saw the fallen spoon. “So you did not fall into the pot! You only hid in the towels!” Mouse nodded with great dignity. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. The girl from the well came in. The magpie settled on the fence. Then came the neighbors, the baker, the blacksmith, and even the guard. “Well?” everyone asked. “Was she found?” The old woman held Mouse up in her palm. “Here is our great disaster!” Everyone looked at the tiny gray face. Mouse squeaked. Then someone began to laugh. Then another. Soon everyone was laughing. The magpie laughed so hard that she nearly tumbled from the fence. “Because of one fallen spoon, we brought half the village running!” said the old man. “And I nearly decided the worst had happened without even checking the basket,” said the old woman. From then on, they had a new rule in the cottage. Whenever something puzzling happened, the old woman said, “First we search calmly.” Then the old man added, “Afterward we may worry—if there is still anything to worry about.” Mouse stayed farther from hot pots after that. But she felt perfectly happy near the basket of towels. And whenever anyone in the village began to panic about a small thing, people smiled and said, “Do not rush. Perhaps it is only Mouse in the towels.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨