The Story of the Barrel Mouse

There once was a little mouse,

At the bottom of a drum.

He lived down there and ate down there,

And rarely saw the sun.

Strangely though he seemed content

As each day passed by.

He never seemed to want the sun,

Or to look up at the sky.

He ate his bread, and drank his fill,

And that seemed to satisfy.

It never seemed to bother him

That he couldn’t see the sky.

Then one day something happened

That would change his life.

It came one day about at noon,

As he buttered a bread slice.

“Hey, down there!” A voice called down.

Our little mouse looked up.

The voice had startled him a little,

And he knocked down his cup.

Another mouse was peeking in,

Over the barrel’s edge.

The little mouse blinked and stared,

As he peered up to the ledge.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

Our little grey mouse cried.

“Would you like to get out of here?”

The other mouse replied.

“Why ever would I do that?

“What’s out there to see?”

“A great new world to be explored,”

The other said with glee.

Our little mouse seemed puzzled then.

Was there really more than this?

If there really, truly was.

What else then had he missed?

“Really are you serious?

“Could it really be?”

“Yes, oh yes,” replied his friend.

“There’s so much to see!”

Our little mouse smiled big.

There was not a shred of doubt!

He then looked up at his friend,

“Well… how do I get out?”

“You must climb up the barrel’s sides,”

His little friend replied,

“Is there not another way?”

Our little grey mouse cried.

The other shook his head sadly,

“No that’s the only way.”

As he stared up and up,

He could see the light of day.

He ran around the barrel,

And sniffed a couple of times.

He finally reached his little paws up,

And started now to climb.

But the sides were very slippery,

And the wood was very wet.

His little muscles tightened up,

And he started to break a sweat.

He hung on with all his might,

Yet he couldn’t hold for long.

He came crashing down to the bottom.

Well, then, what had gone wrong?

“Try again!” his friend encouraged.

“Sometimes, yes, you will fall!

“But don’t get discouraged! Just try again!

“Go on! Climb the wall!”

Our little mouse backed up,

Then he ran and jumped!

He gritted his teeth, but he slipped and he fell.

And he landed with a thump!

He tried and he tried, and he tried yet again!

Yet he couldn’t climb out of the place.

He squeaked, and he groaned, and he yelled and he moaned.

Until he just covered his face.

“Try yet again!” said his little mouse friend.

“You can do it! I know!

“The only true failure is not getting up!

“And there may be no tomorrow!”

He jumped on up, onto the wall,

And he scurried, and slipped, and squeaked.

His claws scratched against the wood,

And loudly the old barrel creaked.

He scrambled way up into the light,

The top was just within reach.

He could see the sky and smell the air,

The sun looked just like a peach.

He continued the scrambled to get to the top,

The task before him seemed vast.

But suddenly his friend reached out his hand,

And our mouse was free at last!

Hope you guys like it!! ^_^