Mouse 2

The patio door was open just enough, accidentally left that way by my human captors. I might have taken full advantage and made my escape, or at the very least, slipped out into the free and open air for a bit. But a frigid wind ripped down among the buildings framing the courtyard. Snow whipped and swirled in the air, blanketing everything in a new layer of bright white. i sighed and settled in a space between the warmth of the room and the cold air leaking through the door.

My eyes felt heavy and sleep wrapped its soft shadowy arms around me. I might have gone to her, giving myself to sleep and the circus of dreams that reside there, but then I spied something from the corner of my eye.

A tiny brown field mouse assassined through tangles of snow-weighted tall grass. It paused, rising up on hind legs, crossing its forelegs and sniffing the cold air. I knew it was there for the morsels of food, the tiniest of crumbs left behind earlier by squirrels and sparrows.

I dared not a move, my eyes following the critter as it cautiously moved across the snow-covered patio. My heart raced and I could feel the tension in my shoulders and hind quarters grow until it was almost too much to bear.

For a moment I was certain the mouse had seen me. I might have lowered my head and pinned back my ears, but this close I didn't dare move a muscle. And so, I waited patiently, biding my time for just the right moment.

The mouse came closer to the door. I'm am certain it suspected me, or suspected that it was being watched and stalked. Between bites of painfully tiny crumbs the mouse would rise up on its back legs again and carefully look and sniff around.

I thought my heart would burst from shere excitement. All the while my head calculated with scientific precision the quickest and best way of overtaking the poor animal. I was acting on pure instinct, for this was the first mouse I had ever actually seen.

Smudge saw it now too and moved across the couch, head down, tail snapping expectantly, as though she would bound over me and take the mouse herself.

"Easy there," she said, coolly. her voice was low nd calculting. She knew this close I could not reply. "First mouse, eh? Slow measured breaths are the way to go. Are you okay?"

I gave a slow careful nod. I was happy for the wisdom and experience.

"Okay," said Smudge, "Anticipation and speed are the keys here. He's careful, got some experience so don't be over-confident. When you go he'll take off, and I'll bet you Dollars to dog bones he'll double back hard thinking you can't turn as fast. When he does, be ready to lower your belly and trap him."

"What if he tried to run?" I chanced a whisper from the corner of my mouth.

"Then he's a fool. wait till he turns his back to you and then go."

Outside the mouse kept scraping for crumbs and sniffing the air. My body was a tightly coiled spring, ready to explode through the gap in the door. In seconds that mouse's little life would come to a very abrupt end. I almost felt sorry for him...