Sunday, August 30, 2009

THE MOUSE TRAP

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said "I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.

8 comments:

mamasita said...

O wow..I never thought of it that way..my goodness Paula..what an inspiring and self-awakening piece!
How I wish we can lend a hand to everybody in need! Sigh!

Tiger said...

Hi MWS,
I remembered this story when I was watching Babe.
It shows you that no human is truly an island.
No one would be what they are if not for influence from someone else.

Unknown said...

Dear Datin Mamasita,

In such challenging times, it is certainly refreshing and inspiring to know that there are still caring folks like you who have the desire to help others in need...

Take care and have a good merdeka weekend with your loved ones.

Selamat berpuasa.

Salam,
Paula

Unknown said...

Dear Tiger,

Actually, I posted this article in my other blog a few months ago with graphics but somehow, I felt led to post it again with no embellishments so that readers can get the whole message.

Indeed, our lives are inextricably linked and I wish more would realize that ...

Take care and may God bless you and yours always.

Walt said...

We are all in this soup together.
Stick a fork in me, I think I'm done.

zigler said...

First time stumbled into your blog. All amazing and uplifting sharing and stories. Thank you for sharing... Regards

Unknown said...

Dear Walt,

No way - you are still very young...Not done yet - you still have lots to do.

Cheers

Unknown said...

Dear Zigler

Thanks for stopping by...You are most welcome. Do come again and I hope you will get a chance to read many of the inspiring stories i have put up here. I have another blog called masterwordsmith-unpluged and you can find it is the sidebar.

Take care and keep in touch.

Kind regards,
mws