Pen Pals

Oh, the mice are excited.

I told them today that there is an English mouse that has written to us from across the Pond...

"Hello! I am the Famous Tooting Mouse! I am not a tame mouse, and I live outside.

I was not always famous, but then I realised that all the food I was eating was being put out for me by a person. That was when I decided to stop being so timid, and to become bold. Soon I was getting even better food from the person, and began having my picture taken. Now I have cheese and an almond every day, to go with my wild-bird seed.

So my advice to other mice is this:

Stop being so scared! Be as bold as you can, but don't bite anybody! Soon you will be loved and cared for, and will never be hungry again.

And if you see a fox watching you, run away, but watch to see if it is a nice fox or not. There are actually some very nice foxes out there, who may not eat you just for being a mouse. And most birds are nice too. This is my advice to mice."

Of course, many of the mice were perplexed by this advice, since they always thought people were nice. (But then, they didn't realize not everyone was as lucky as they were and had nice humans around to wait on them hand and foot...)*

"We should write him back," they tell me. Indeed. What shall you say, I ask? "Mmmmm," they say.

* I must explain, however, that the FTM does have a Human Friend, a very special one. He used to run a very famous toy shop in London...