The Knights Mouse (standard:fairy tales, 778 words)
Author: DonnaR	Added: Oct 19 2000	Views/Reads: 4334/1	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A knight and a mouse have a strange friendship, but things don't always work out as we wish. COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.

Once,  long, long ago, there was a little mouse. In her world there were
Kings  and  Queens, Princes and Princesses and yes, Knights. She was 
not the  Queen  in  this  world,  nor  was she a princess, instead she 
was a mouse.  She  lived  at  the  castle,  in a warm hole in the wall, 
in the kitchen  near  the massive fireplace. She would sneak out when 
the coast was  clear and grab bites of cheese and bread. She watched 
the people in her world, following them with her intelligent eyes. Her 
favorite person was  the  Gray  Knight.  He knew of her existence and 
was kind enough to leave  her crumbs where she could find them. He 
often had to travel this brave  knight,  thru out the many kingdoms of 
the world, on business for the king. 

But,  when  he  was  around,  the  little mouse knew she had a friend.
Gradually, day by day, the little mouse became braver. Whereas she 
would run  when  people  approached,  she  began  to linger if it was 
the Gray Knight.  He  would  sit  at the table and hold out his hand 
with bits of cheese.  At first she would just twitch her whiskers at 
him, but not get close.  He  would lay the cheese on the floor and she 
would run and grab it  and hide back in her hole. Peeking out to blink 
her blue eyes at him as  if to say thank you for the crumbs. He was 
patient, our knight, each day  he waited to see if the mouse would come 
and take the food from his hand. One fine day, it happened. She crept 
to him, her little eyes never leaving his face, ready to scamper to 
safety if need be. But, he made no move  to harm her, and she took the 
cheese from his large hand. Quickly, she ran back into her hole. 

After  a few days of this, she no longer would run right back into her
hole.  Instead she would stand on her back legs, with the cheese held 
in her little paws and eat it there in front of the knight. Soon, she 
would stand on his hand to eat. She allowed him to stroke her gently. 
He began to  place  bits  of cheese in his pockets and she would 
scamper over his large  body  sniffing until she found the hidden 
treat. She climbed into his  pockets and allowed him to take her with 
him when he went about his knightly  duties.  The  Knight told no one 
about his strange friendship, for  he  knew  that others would laugh at 
him. But, the little mouse had quickly  become  his  special  friend. 
Many days passed, with the knight each  day  stopping  by  the kitchen 
and collecting his little buddy and returning  her  after  a few hours 
of companionship. The mouse no longer would sneak out to find her food, 
because she knew that her knight would feed  her daily. Her little 
belly grew round, and fat, and she no longer could scamper quite as 
fast. 

The  day came when the knight had to leave again. He tried to tell the
little  mouse,  but  she  did  not understand. All she knew was that 
her knight  no longer came to the kitchen. She waited, patiently, for 
him to appear.  She  grew  hungry, but still she waited. Her little 
round belly again  became small. Her hunger made her weak and slow. She 
realized she was starving, but could not make herself sneak into the 
kitchen for food as  she used to do. Just as she thought she would not 
be able to survive another day, she heard a familiar footstep and 
voice. She eased from her hole,  her  eyes seeking her friend. There he 
was, returned at last. She moved  out  from her hole and slowly made 
her way to him. Suddenly, from behind  the  Knight, came a streak of 
black, hissing death. The barn cat had  followed the knight in and 
seeing the mouse, ran to the attack. The knight  tried  to stop the 
cat, but he was not quick enough and the poor mouse  was too weak to 
run as she once could. In one swipe of its deadly paws,  the  cat 
killed the little mouse and grabbing up her limp body in his  jaws  ran 
 off to enjoy his meal. The knight watched in sad horror, his  friend  
was  gone.  He knew if he was patient, one day there may be another  
mouse, but somehow, he did not think it would ever be the same. But,  
the  thought  of  the  lonely times ahead caused him to go and get 
another piece of cheese and began his wait. 


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