Portrayals of Mice in Story Books and Personal Encounters
Fall is here, and so are the mice! They searched for a cozy, warm place and found the perfect spot in our attic crawl space.
For several days, scurrying and scratching sounds have been heard above us into the night and dark mornings. I was sitting in my reading chair drinking coffee when I saw a tail beneath the bookshelf alongside the fireplace.
I kept watching to make sure I was not seeing things. Indeed, I had a visitor. A little mouse sat on the hearth on its rump, looking at me. Its tiny front paws clasped together as if to say, “Please, ma’am, can you spare a crumb?” We stared at each other for a moment before it turned away and went back under the bookshelf. This personal encounter gave me an excellent opportunity to reflect on ‘charming creatures’ portrayed in storybooks.
Yes, the mouse was every bit the cuteness of Beatrix Potter’s brown mice she painted in her picture book, The Tailor of Gloucester. The mice saved the old tailor who was sick when they made the mayor’s wedding suit, which Potter describes as “made from cherry-colored corded silk embroidered with pansies and roses, and a cream-colored satin waistcoat—trimmed with gauze and green worsted chenille.” Of course, there were snippets of cloth for the mice to make themselves clothes. Even Simpkins, the tailor’s cat, trapped them under porcelain teacups! When the tailor released them, Simpkins was angry and hid a “single skein of cherry-colored twisted silk” needed to finish the wedding suit.
Do you think that sounds familiar to you? In Disney’s 1950 film, Cinderella’s mice friends make her a gown for the ball, which the stepsisters ruin, and her fairy godmother comes to her rescue. The fable of Cinderella dates back centuries and has various twists in different cultures. One commonality is that mice were available to become horses.
Mice may not be as helpful as fairytales or storybooks in our homes. However, in nature, they are purposeful in transferring seeds and becoming meals for owls. Our mice visitors squeezed into the smallest hole we could not find, traveled inside our walls, which were miniature hallways between rafters and heating ducts, and burrowed in the warmth of attic insulation stocked with the nuts and seeds they brought in.
One book I loved as a child and still have is Gus Was a Friendly Ghost, by Jane Thayer, published in 1961. Gus lived with the Scott family in their summer house, but when they left in the fall, Gus was lonely, so he invited Mouse to live with him.
Gus takes good care of Mouse, making food and preparing warm fires. Mouse lived a good life until the Scotts returned, and then Mouse became naughty because he hated people. He got into the pantry, nibbled their food, made messes, and tried to scare the family, which made Gus angry. In this story, Thayer portrays what mice are capable of. Gus reprimanded Mouse for his behavior and made him stay in the garden to eat nasturtium seeds. When fall returned, Gus allowed Mouse to come back inside.
Author and illustrator Jill Barklem published her series of the Brambly Hedge in 1980, which I discovered with my children. The first four books were written for each season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Barklem illustrated the wood mice in their community staying warm, cooking, and preserving foods stored in detailed illustrations. Her work reminds me of Beatrix Potter. They were both British and had affection for their mice. I have added some links for you to explore.
As for me, I’m happy for the mice to stay in the garden eating nasturtium seeds.
How many children’s books that gave mice human qualities did you enjoy reading? Please Feel free to comment below.
