I keep dry dog food in a metal trash can–with a lid–in the mud room just off our back porch. I left the lid askew day before yesterday and the next morning heard something skittering around in the can–a plump mouse, about the size of an egg. We have a new cat. (You know where this is going.) I thought: ’A teachable moment.’ So, the Devil being what he is, I dropped the cat into the can with the mouse and settled down to watch the show. They eyed each other. The mouse made the first move. He sat up on his haunches, curried his whiskers in leisurely fashion, scratched his ear, and then crept over and snugged into the cat’s belly fur. The cat stretched out, licked him, and otherwise made him comfortable. To make a long story short, I hadn’t the heart to…well… let’s just say that there was nothing to do but trudge out to the barn through waist-deep snow and release him,pointing out, of course, where I keep the sweet feed for the horses. It was a teachable moment. I was on the receiving end. Merry Christmas. BKD
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