Anecdote Of The Week: What Effects One Effects All

“Through the crack in the wall the little mouse watched, curious, as the farmer and his wife opened a strange package. Hoping the package might contain food, the mouse was shocked to discover it was instead a mouse trap!

Fleeing the farmhouse, the mouse rushed out into the farmyard intent on warning the farmer’s other animals: a chicken, a fat pig, and a big bull.

‘There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!’

The chicken just stared at the little mouse and clucked, ‘Why should I care about a mousetrap? Its’s no danger to me. I’m a chicken!’

Quickly the little mouse ran over to the fat pig with the news. But the fat pig was likewise unconcerned, squealing, ‘It’s only a mousetrap. Why should I care about a mousetrap? I’m a fat pig!’

Finally the little mouse ran up to the big bull, his last hope. After hearing what the little mouse had to say, the big bull contentedly chewed his cud and mooed, ‘I’m sorry little mouse. But it is only a mousetrap. And I am a big bull. I don’t see how this possibly be my problem.’

Defeated, alone, slowly the little mouse made his way back into the farmhouse, resigned to his fate.

Later that night, the farmer’s wife was awakened by the clear and certain sound of the mousetrap snapping shut.

Rushing to verify her kill, the farmer’s wife realized- too late- that her mousetrap had not caught the little mouse, instead it had trapped a venomous snake by the tail! The snake bit the farmer’s wife. Hearing his wife scream, the farmer rushed to his wife’s side, quickly killing the snake.

The farmer cleaned and dressed his wife’s wound and put her to bed but, despite his best efforts, she began to develop a dangerous fever.

Now every farmer knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer killed the chicken.

But his wife’s health continued to deteriorate. Soon friends and neighbors came to sit a vigil for her around the clock. And, as is only neighborly, the farmer butchered the fat pig to feed his friends.

But despite everyone’s help and prayers, the farmer’s wife died. A much-loved woman, people came from miles around to attend her funeral. In fact so many people came for her funeral that the farmer slaughtered the big bull in order to provide enough meat for all the mourners. Through the crack in the wall, the little mouse watched it all.”