and Rufus disappeared through the door. “It’s cold in here,” said Anna shivering. “Look,” said Rufus as he pointed to rows of cages. There were two levels of rows. “Rufus, you check each cage at the bottom and I will check the top shelf,” said Anna. Before Rufus could answer she moved toward one of the cages and climbed it. Rufus looked inside each of the bottom shelves, but found nothing. “They are all empty,” said Rufus. “Hello,” he heard. It was Anna he realized. When he looked up to the top shelf he saw she was standing by a cage. “Don’t be afraid; we are here to help. I am Anna and down there is Rufus. We are looking for his family,” she continued. “I am George. You must be here for the other mice, but I fear you have come too late,” said the hamster. “What do you mean?” Rufus asked. “They are in the room next door facing death as we speak. I am sorry, but they are to be the snakes’ supper tonight,” he continued. No it can’t be, thought Rufus. “How do I get to the room?” he asked desperately. “It is right over there,” he said and pointed. “It’s not locked, but I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” he warned. It’s been a while since they entered the building, thought Pete. He was starting to feel restless waiting outside the small door. He decided to peek inside. This place is enormous, he thought. He looked around and saw Anna talking to someone in one of the cages. What am I doing? I have to get back outside he thought. He turned around, but right in front of him was the furry, fat cat. “What a lovely surprise! I thought I smelled something delicious earlier,” said the cat. Before Pete could move the cat knocked him to the floor. “Now lay still,” she said. Pete closed his eyes as the cat bared her teeth. She is going to eat me he thought. She picked Pete up with her mouth and walked away from the door.
“Please don’t eat me,” pleaded Pete. The cat ignored him and kept on walking. Suddenly the cat felt something jump on her head. She ignored it, but then she felt it on her nose repeatedly. What is happening thought the cat? Then she felt a tickle right by her nose. “Let go of the mouse, cat, he is not meant to be eaten!” Pete heard a familiar voice. The tickle returned the cat couldn’t help herself and sneezed. Pete flew right out of her mouth. “Run, Pete!” shouted the grasshopper. Pete got to his feet and ran back to the small door as fast as he could. “How dare you grasshopper? I’ll show you what I do with tiny creatures like you! You will wish you never entered my farm,” the cat said furiously. The grasshopper took this as a message to start hopping. When he turned around he saw the cat was right behind him. He saw the farm wall coming closer and hopped through the gap of the wall. The cat was going too fast to slow down and followed the grasshopper. The grasshopper reached the other side of the wall safely, but when he turned around he looked straight into the cat’s furry face. The cat couldn’t move she was stuck, only her head made it through the gap. “Stuck are we? Well good luck with that,” said the grasshopper and hopped off. The cat meowed at him bitterly.
Rufus ran to the other door. It was closed so he couldn’t enter. “No!” he shouted, frustrated and hitting his fists against the door. Then he heard a thump, he looked up to see Anna hanging on the door handle. “How did you get there?” asked Rufus. “No time for questions, just PUSH Rufus!” she shouted. He pushed, but nothing happened. “Wait, let me help,” he heard. When he turned around he saw Pete. They used all their strength and pushed together. The door creaked and opened slightly. Rufus squeezed in at the door. Anna dropped to the floor, looked at Pete and asked, “My word, why are you so slimy?” “Don’t ask. I’ll fill you in later. Come on what are you waiting for?” answered Pete. They followed Rufus.
Once inside they saw a big glass container. “That must be the snakes’ den,” whispered Anna. Rufus walked to the container expecting the worst. They could see some plants, rocks and two branches leading to the top of the container and then the snakes. Pete instantly moved backwards. “They are huge!” he gasped. “I don’t see my family. What if we are too late?” said Rufus. “This journey is not over yet,” said Pete. “How do you know?” asked Rufus. “Because I think your family is over there,” said Pete as he pointed upwards. When Rufus looked up he saw a small cage above the snakes den. Inside he saw two mice. “Mom, Dad!” he shouted and ran to get a closer look.
There was a rope attached to the cage. He ran, jumped and then he climbed it. He reached the top of the cage and opened the latch. “Mom, Dad!” he said relieved and hugged his parents. “Rufus you came for us. But how?” asked his father. “It’s a long story, I will tell you all about it on the way home,” he answered. Then he realized his sister wasn’t in the cage. “Where is Lola?” he asked concerned. His mother started to cry. “I fear we have lost her son,” said his father. “No it can’t be!” cried Rufus. “You see son,” his father continued, “the snakes have a lever in their den and once they put the weight of their tails on it, the floor at the bottom of the cage opens. Your mom and I grabbed on to the sides of the cage, but your sister fell down to the snakes’ den. When the floor closed we tried to look for her. We saw her try and find shelter, but then we lost sight of her.” “So she might still be alive,” said Rufus hopeful. Rufus looked down searching the den. It can’t be, he thought. I came this far, she can’t be gone. Anna and Pete were watching and listening to what was happening in the cage. They moved closer to the container and started searching for any sign of Rufus’s sister. “Over there, look!” said Anna. “Snake number two, to your right look at his head,” she continued. Rufus saw that the snake’s mouth wasn’t closed. There was something sticking out. “Rufus I think that’s a tail,” shouted Pete.
Rufus turned his attention back to his parents. “Mom, dad I need you to get to the top of the cage and climb down the rope and stay with Anna and Pete.” His parents followed his instructions. Rufus followed them to the top of the cage once his parents were on their way down. He pushed his body forward jumped as high as he could and went falling down to the den below. He plunged down and landed on the snake’s neck. The snake had no choice but to spit Lola out and then he went limp.
“Who dares to enter our home without our permission?” the other snake hissed. “Run Lola!” shouted Rufus, but fear has taken all movement from her limbs. “A mouse! You have come into my home and knocked my brother unconscious. I will have to deal with you,” the snake continued. Rufus moved quickly toward his sister, grabbed her by the arm and ran to one of the rocks in the den. He noticed the rock was close enough to the branch leading to the top of the cage. “Climb, Lola!” Rufus shouted panicked. This time she obeyed and they climbed onto the branch. “Keep your balance, Lola; walk to the top of the cage,” he said. Looking down he could see the snakes moving to the rock. One jumped forward to strike, but missed Rufus by an inch. Rufus walked towards the top of the cage minding his balance. He reached his sister at the top of the branch and they jumped. They landed on the floor. “Oh my children,” their mother said immediately running to them. “We thought we were going to lose you both,” she said sobbing.
“Guys, I’m sorry to break up the reunion, but we have to leave this place now,” said Pete. “I agree,” said Anna. Rufus nodded in agreement. Leaving the feeding room, they passed the empty cages once more. “You guys made it,” said the hamster. “Yes we did,” said Rufus. “Would you like to join us? We are on our way leaving the farm,” he continued. “Yes please,” the hamster replied and followed them.
Safely outside the white building they walked towards the gap in the wall only to find it was occupied by the cat. “I see you got what you deserved,” said Pete to the cat. There was no reply only her tail dropped, admitting defeat.
“What do we do now?” asked Anna. “Look,” said Lola. A flock of birds were circling above them. “It’s the sparrows,” said Pete. “They must be here to help,” and he waived his little arms in the air signalling the birds. “Over here!” came the shouts from the ground. The sparrows saw this as a sign and descended towards them. One by one they were lifted off the ground and took flight safely clutched in the claws of the sparrows.
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The sparrows landed safely at the tree of the squirrel. Pete’s parents were there too, Rufus noticed. The squirrel approached him. “I see you made it mouse, you are a real hero. It seems the sparrow was right about you. I didn’t believe her at first, but here you are. It just shows the power of persistence, faith and little courage. You are truly a brave little mouse,” said the squirrel. “Thank you, but you have forgotten one thing,” Rufus replied. “I didn’t undertake this journey alone. I had a lot of support and because of that this mission was successful and my family is home safely. So thank you to all my friends for aiding me in making the impossible possible.”
The End
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Carmen Saptouw
About Carmen Saptouw
As a young child of only 8 years old, she was inspired to write children’s stories. Following her childhood years, she got so involved with being a teenager that she completely