Monday, November 24, 2008

Licorice The Mouse


Continued from this post here.

So the mouse in the cage did not look like our pet mouse Licorice. I screamed, and told Hubby that he just picked up a wild, disease-ridden rodent! Panicked expression on his face (he's a Germ-a-phobe), he ran to the cage and insisted it was Licorice, but with a 'fro. It's true, Licorice had a new 'do. It was a 'fro. And a little lighter color, less charcoal grey, and more, dust ball grey. Like she'd been camping out in a dust bunny. Or got lit up by the pilot light in the furnace.


So, she stayed there in her cage for a few more days; enough to fake us out that she'd stay. And then *poof* disappeared. There were mouse droppings all over the garage, showing us that she was definitely not changing her address.


As I was leaving to take a walk last week, I saw the red carpet runner that I threw out in the garage after I destroyed it in the dryer, and not wanting the neighbors to think I was trashy (you know, the kind of neighbor with a mice breeding ground in their garage), I picked up the carpet and walked it over to the trash can that was about to be picked up by the garbage man. I almost made it, but I felt something lightly scurry across one of my hands. Having just written Cockroach Chronicles, I was a tad bit jumpy.


I screamed hysterically (maybe more than a tad bit) and threw the carpet! Something leaped off my hand and made a muffled splatting sound on the driveway. I stopped screaming when I saw it was not the Cockroach Chronicles Revisited, but just Licorice. She had been living in the discarded rug and when I picked it up, she scurried out and jumped on my hand, then got flung off when I went crazy.


I'm sure the neighbors got a laugh. I reached down and picked Licorice up and put her back in the cage and told Hubby that we have to take her to a field and let her go. No one pays attention to her, and I definitely don't want her getting the romantic attention from a wild mouse.


This morning, we had to make a run to the dump. As we were loading up empty boxes, Hubby picked up the red rug. Out plopped Licorice, and because Hubby is skittish and has short-term memory, he jumped and yelled when she came out. That was enough to make my day right there!


So, as it stands, we still have the mouse. Any creative ideas about how to get rid of a pet mouse, nicely?

7 comments:

Ivy said...

No, no ideas but I would just shout and scream until I scare her out of the house.

La Belette Rouge said...

We just watched Ratatouille last night so I am feeling especially affectionate and protective of rodents.;-)

My WV is predust. That is what I do before I clean house.
xo
Samos Sestre

~Tessa~Scoffs said...

If you're worried about what to tell the kiddos, tell them that Licorice is getting married and has to go live with her husband. Because he lives with his mother and she can't get around very much any more and Licorice will have to help her with the housework and such.
WV is "moppe" - a helpful daughter in law mouse

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

I have a hungry Hawk around here eating my birds that needs other food..... NAH.. I saw Ratatouille too. :))
Maybe she/he needs a mate? LOL
OH I AM SO GONNA TEASE YOUR HUBBY.. SO GONNA. :))

oh oh. word verifcation.. e yank pc
He wouldnt dare!? :)

Cassoulet Cafe said...

Ivy,
She's already out of the house, but in the garage. She doesn't want to move. I've left the garage door open several times, let the cats in...she's tough!

TMI,
This mouse I can touch, because she's from PetCo. Of course, i would rather not...

LBR,
Ohhh I love Ratatouille (the movie AND the dish)...and I've often thought of it as I contemplated letting the cats out to find Licorice. Eww..I'm sick arent' i?
Predust...I wish I was better at dusting. :) I predust, then I DON'T dust. haha.

TESSA,
You made me laugh, that is too funny! I don't want any "moppes"...not more meeses than we already have, so I must make Licorice go "get married" soon. I'll pack her bags.

Cris,
Yes, he may yank the PC if he finds out I've made it public. lol

Le laquet said...

How the heck does she keep escaping from the cage? Release her in the local park?

When I was 14/15/16 I worked as a parlour maid at the local dairy farm - we were in the country, the farm was a 5 minute bike ride up the road. In the summer it would be on with shorts and a t-shirt and up the road for the 4am start ~ not so bad because the farmer's wife fed me before school. Winter was another thing completely - jeans, t-shirt, jumper, hat, scarf and finally duffle coat before I got anywhere near my bike!! I'll never forget the first "winter" morning of one year when I slung on the duffle in the back lean-to (mud room) where it had been hanging, put my hand in the left pocket (I still remember which side) and pulled out a whole nest of field mice who had obviously decided to set up home there earlier in the summer! I screamed and then I screamed and then I screamed some more.

Vicki said...

I would do what you said in the post. Let her go where she has no way to be able to find her way back...

The two cats I'm watching for a friend (at her house) left three dead mice for me...so make sure you release the mouse away from houses :)