Jamie ~ 2

 Jamies ~ 2 Golden Rules

By Len Morgan 

Jamie was small in stature, but as mice go, he was very much an adult at two years of age.  He’d long since learned the rules for survival.  The do’s and don'ts that mean the difference between living & dieing.

 

He’d seen family and friends come to sticky ends, because they failed to observe those rules.  He was determined that neither he nor his siblings would ignore them.

Rule 1:  They all knew they had the run of the house when old Frizzy Whiskers went outside, but Jamie insisted that one of their number should be constantly on guard duty to warn of his return so they could all be safely below floor when he re-entered the house.

Jamie nibbled contentedly on nuts, ham, cheese, and bread left on the kitchen table.

Rule 2:  Always eat from the same place where humans eat or prepare their meals; never from the floor.  Slow painful death from poisoning resulted from ignoring this rule.

All things considered, life was good, if a little crowded, at 17 Cedarwood Terrace.  The rodent population had grown and flourished under his watchful gaze.

Rule 3:  Warned that when the population reached a certain level, the adults should move out and populate other nearby buildings.

But, life was easy, just a little too comfortable for those expected to move out.  Why should they leave a haven of plenty, for a meagre existence half a mile down the road?  

Time passed and their numbers continued to increase… 

.-…-. 

“No!” Jamie yelled at a svelte young female named Natasha.  She was scurrying towards a large smelly ball of cheese, standing on a wooden plinth on the floor.  She hesitated, and looked in his direction, allowing a rival to get to the cheese first.  He jumped on the plinth and buried his face in the soft delicious smelling cheese.  

Snap!  A screech of pain, then silence. 

“Your hesitation saved your life!” said Jamie coming up beside Natasha.  “That could have been you!”  Taking two paws full of cheese he handed one to her.  “You ignore the Elders rules at your peril, never eat from the floor.”

She stifled a yawn and mouthed ‘never eat from the floor’ as he spoke the words.  In her mind, Elders like Jamie were unnecessarily restrictive on the young ones; they fear competition and new ideas.

You stick to your silly old rules and I’ll find my own…” she said.  He left her not knowing it would be the last time he would see her. 

There are good reasons behind the Golden Rules, they are not simply there to spoil the fun for the young.  Some would learn them the hard way, others like Natasha, would pay dearly for not learning from the experience of others.  They had gotten out of the habit of asking why?

(To be Continued)

Copyright Len Morgan