Memory Lane
When my friend Bella and I were around eleven years old, we were into secrets in a big way. We both decided that we wanted a secret pet even though we both already had a cat each and my family already had a spaniel dog. However, we wanted to keep a pet that no one else knew about. We decided on a couple of mice!
We planned our venture down to the last detail. I had a cardboard box and I made some air holes in it. I smuggled a piece of my brother's railway line out of his room and tied it into the box to make a little staircase for the mice to exercise on. We then put in a small dish of water and some seed for them to eat.
We collected our pocket money and went quite a long way to a pet shop taking a jam jar with us. It must have been a Saturday.
The man in the pet shop told us that there were two mice left. There was a white one, which I really wanted, and a brown one. Bella bagged the white one and I disappointedly accepted the brown one.
The pet shop man told us they were a shilling each! (five pence in todays money). He didn't ask us if we knew anything about keeping mice or if our parents had agreed. Nor did he say what sex the mice were.
He put the mice in the jam jar and off we set to Bella's home where the box was already in place in the spare bedroom.
We popped the new pets into their cardboard box and I left for home as Bella had to go down for tea.
The following Monday, my friend informed me that her mother was furious with me and was going to ring my mother that morning. Her cat had suddenly decided to frantically want to go into the spare bedroom and Bella's mother couldn't understand why and went to investigate.
The cat unfortunately killed my brown mouse and the white one had got into a chest of drawers and had peed on the clean bed linen and had started to chew things up. My friend's mother was really annoyed because they were expecting guests from America and they had got the room clean and now everything had to be washed from out of the chest of drawers.
I knew my mother would go over the top with punishing me. She always did, so I went home in great fear. I had thought of running away.
When I got home I was pounced on and my mother didn't let up from ranting and raving for hours.
All Bella got was a short lecture and she had to pay for a wooden mouse house with a glass front, from pocket money for the white mouse, which cost 12/6d. (About 61p) which was a lot of money to find in those days, for a child.
I felt sorry for myself for days afterwards because I hadn't wanted the brown mouse in the first place and now the cat had eaten it and it had cost me a shilling. On top of this, Bella's mother told my Mum that I was a bad influence and I got into far more trouble than she did.
Bella eventually married an American man and has been living in USA for years. We still keep in touch though and occasionally laugh about the antics that we got up to as children.
27 comments:
Aw how unfair on you!
You antics made me laugh though - got any more tales?? :)
Hahahahaha! very funny story Maggie!! loved the part about the cat eating the mouse!
I also kept mice as a child and at one point couldn't control the breeding situation! I ended up with about 20 mice from just 2! drove my Grandmother crazy!!
Donnie X
Memories of childhood can be very funny! My parents were anti-pet but had allowed my brother and me two white rabbits. What we got into trouble for was trading the two white rabbits for a turtle and a kitten.
I had an experience like Donny's when a friend gave me two mice when we were in college. I had more than 30 at one point and (shhh!) I let them go.
I was never into sneaking animals home and hiding them as I was always very open about the stray whatever I had brought home. My kids on the other hand, smuggled a second cat into the house and it was here for over three weeks before I realized we had a new cat. I'll have to blog about that story some day.
LOL - you guys were brave! I don't believe I could have handled a pet mouse at that age!
How great to have 'a reputation' at such an early age! I hope you've still got one!
Dear Maggie
There is an award waiting for you at mine. Please don't feel bad if you can't pass it on or display it. I just wanted to give it to you anyway :)
Oh Maggie! Poor you. And that poor little mouse! Lucky cat though............ I guess.
Still, it's nice to know that you still keep in touch with your friend.
Just popped on by to wish you a slightly belated Merry Christmas(I hope it was all that you wished for and more) and a wonderfully happy new year.
xxoox
Hi Maggie, what a brilliant story, it really made me laugh. Our cats like to bring in pet mice and we have got very good a catching them and letting them go in the garden. Happy New Year to you and all your family Debra xx
Hello Maggie. That was a lovely story, I thought you were going to tell us that they bred and you had dozens of brown and white mice running about the room...what a nightmare that would have been.
I love to read these types of stories. They stir up memories in me and hopefully in others.
RIP little mouse LMFAO
x
Wonderful story Maggie and isn't it lovely to reminisce and share such memories - thank you for telling the tale!
A x
Have I missed something? What was the wooden mouse house for?
It is amazing the things that young children get up to. It does not seem that naughty now, but I suppose that it was at the time.
What a great story, Maggie May! I am so sorry your mouse became dinner for the cat, though. My daughter used to have hamsters--with my permission--until one day it escaped its cage and the cat found it. My daughter was traumatized, so I bought her a replacement--guess what happened to it? After awhile, we decided hamsters and cats could not peacefully exist in our house.
Bella's mother and yours could have been a little more understanding:)
Good story, but you? A bad influence? As if.
Fancy saying you are a bad influence! But I wouldn't have pet mice in my spare room!!
CJ xx
Hi Maggie,
Wonderful story of childhood memories.
Oh this brings back childhood memories. Smuggling forbidden pets in the house. Being found out (of course, although we never think they'll know). And getting in trouble.
Ahhh - childhood.
I'm in trauma about the thought of mice in my house after watching that Swarm documentary last night. Two mice can become three THOUSAND in a year, if left to their own devices. Can you imagine the lecture you'd get if that happened????!!!
I can imagine what a disaster this must have seemed to you, at the time. Both mothers overreacted, as far as you were concerned, unfortunately. Children often suffer most from unfairness, in life, I feel.
Anyway, it's made a very entertaining post for your blog and I'm glad that you are still in touch with Bella! She obviously had the good sense to ignore her mum's comments!
You know Maggie, I think it was awfully brave of you two to try to keep that secret, lol! Who's idea was it to keep the new secret pets where the cat lived? LOL
Sandi
Maggie, my brother smuggled in white rats into his bedroom to feed his snake (also kept without permission). See you could have done worse.
Oh. I don't think you were so very bad Maggie May...
I like your mouse tale/tail. I too expected there to be several babies in store. Perhaps it's best that the brown one met its fate at the jaws of her cat. Great story. :)
It sounds like wholesome mischief to me...although the brown mouse probably wasn't overkeen on being cat food. I see on your profile that you still keep a rat, so the rodent-obsession seems to have continued into adulthood.
Happy New Year Maggie!
Mya x
Thank you all for your comments on my mousie tale.
I guess bt todays standards that it was not a big deal, but it definitely was when I was a child!
Mya....... my rat is NOT a pet. Will be blogging about it before too long! its NOT in the house........not exactly!
oh my that is quite a story. It is so funny the things we think of doing as children.
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