The Mouse Trap

06/03/20 • 4 min

Have you ever heard the story of The Mouse Trap ( author unknown)? It goes like this, with my thoughts added afterwards:

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A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.

Most of our lives may have been fairly self-centered, mainly looking out for ourselves and what’s best for us. But I think with all the turmoil around us these days, we are realizing how interconnected we all are.

I read a puzzle comparison about how each person is like a piece of a jig saw puzzle: each of us is necessary, each of us is entirely unique, not one of us is more or less valuable, when a piece is missing, the whole picture suffers, and we are most effective when we stay connected!

I love that comparison and can see our puzzle coming together in so many ways. People are keeping an eye out for one another. We are making an effort to be an encouragement to those who are struggling. We are appreciating our blessings and the people who help to make those blessings possible. We are taking our eyes off of ourselves and caring for other people. And when this pandemic is over, I look forward to seeing the beautiful puzzle we will have created together.

Have a wonderful day, Carol

Have you ever heard the story of The Mouse Trap ( author unknown)? It goes like this, with my thoughts added afterwards:

Prefer to Read?

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

Have a wonderful day, Carol

Previous Episode

Facing Fear Because He Lives

Fear is a very present part of our lives at one time or another and can't be avoided. But how we deal with fear can make all the difference.

Wishing you peace and joy in spite of everything going on around us, Carol

Next Episode

Remember The Duck

The following story about the duck comes from the book “Will Daylight Come” by Richard Hoefler. It goes like this:

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A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. Johnny practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma’s backyard he spied her pet duck. On an impulse, he took aim with his slingshot and let fly. The stone hit the duck and it fell dead. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all.

After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help you in the kitchen today, didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make the supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again, she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. Finally, after several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he had killed the duck.

“I know, Johnny” she said, giving him a hug. “I was at the window and saw the whole thing. But I love you and forgive you. I wondered how long you would let Sally bother you.

God gave each of us a conscience, that little voice inside us that says we shouldn’t have done that. But like the little boy, we try to do good things to make up for it. We try to be so good that we won’t hear that little voice anymore. But God – just like the grandma – sees everything we do and just wants us to confess and say we’re sorry.

Because He loves us, He is more than willing to forgive us. Even though He already knows, He wants us to come to Him and confess. And if we need to confess and ask forgiveness of another person, we need to do that too.

Taking care of our conscience whenever we feel bothered by anything keeps it sensitive and alert. If we make excuses for ourselves and refuse to listen to our conscience, it will eventually become dull and hard. And a world full of people without much of a conscience is a scary world indeed.