Miss Mouse and The Lady of the House

It was early morning toward the end of February at the house by the woods. The Lady of the House was just stirring. The only sounds in her cozy bedroom were the Man of the House and Laddie...breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall. There was a faint breeze coming in the window that made the lace curtains move a bit. There was something different in the air...a different scent. She didn't know what it was. Sitting on the loveseat with Laddie she started to plan her day. Dressed in her dear old flannel robe and fuzzy slippers, she stepped out of the bedroom. She looked about her as she tiptoed to the kitchen to start the coffee. Everything looked heavy. There were quilts, throws, dark pillows, a poinsettia, dark cranberry candles, knitting tossed in the corner of the couch and so on. She felt a stir in her head...something was wrong. Change was in the air.

In another part of the house by the woods, Miss Mouse was just stirring. The only sounds in her sleeping area were those made by her little family as they lay sleeping. Tiny creatures stretched and moved with the breathing. She felt, ever so slightly, a faint breeze and a different scent came wafting down the burrow. She got up on her tiny feet and decided to go up the tunnel and see what she could see. So, without waking the family, she scampered up.

By now the coffee was served and the Lady of the House dressed in her favorite gardening clothes for a change. A worn pair of jeans, an old red sweater (that hung on the coat rack) and her very favorite navy blue keds. She set about making a change. Gathering up all the old winter accessories, she replaced them with spring things. White pillows, a springlike quilt on the back of the sofa, some colorful candles.The mantle got a change too. She couldn't remove the Man of the House's duck collection, but she took the winter swags away and replaced them with flowering branches. The throw rugs were next. She took them to the front door and stepped outside. Shaking the rugs briskly and placing them on the porch railing to air...she decided to sit on the porch bench for a few minutes.

In the tiny garden by the drive, Miss Mouse scampered about looking for all the beautiful flowers that used to be there. She found nothing but brown, crisp, dried up plant material. She was so disappointed. "It used to be so beautiful she sobbed." She decided to rest behind a big rock before going down to the burrow again. She had to watch for that pesky cat...you never know what he's up to.

The Lady of the House looked out to the tiny garden and said, "Will it be as beautiful as it was last year? Have the perennials made it through the winter? What about the rose bushes? Oh, dear the winter was so cold will there be beauty here again?"

All of a sudden Miss Mouse felt a trembling in the earth. It was like a mini earth quake. She stepped out from behind the rock to take a look.....Over to the right, next to a dried rose bush, the ground had ruptured. She stepped closer and could feel the earth moving. She spied a tiny bit of green. It popped up like a mini volcano. What was it? She looked closer and another green thing popped up and another and another. The green stems stood up tall and straight and popped open into leaves.They were the color of green apples. All of a sudden they opened into tiny white flowers. The looked like bells nodding in the breeze. She was so excited to see some color....even white. She knew that things were going to be all right. It was a start.

The Lady of the House took the rugs off the railing and was turning to step back into the house, when out of the corner of her eye, she spied something different. She went over to the tiny garden and there was a patch of spring green, where it had been brown before. Her little snow drops were opening up and nodding in the breeze. She knew that things were going to be all right. It was a start.

Before Miss Mouse left to go down the burrow and before the lady of the house could go inside, they saw each other for a brief moment. They gave each other a smile and both heard a voice in the breeze, whispering in their ears. "Spring is coming my children..just be patient."

Balisha