Mousetree

Michael D. Malone

Description

Two best friends begin an ordinary day together and end up worlds apart. This is a story that explores bravery and fear, doing what is right versus doing what is easy, and learning our purpose to love and help one another despite our differences. It hopes to inspire learning how to tell one’s own story and the importance of stopping and listening to others. It explores social injustices, life-threatening circumstances, and the journey that we all take: the long journey home told through the eyes of two young girl mice as they fight, love, and learn their way back home.
Mousetree not only captures the reader’s imagination through rich character development, storytelling, and beautiful illustrations, but more importantly, it reminds us of qualities that we should strive to develop. Love those closest to us, celebrate our differences, and don’t assume to know or understand the circumstances of our neighbors, both friend and foe, for it is not our purpose to understand but only to love and help one another.

Sujets

• Fiction Jeunesse
• Malone
• Michael
• Juvenilee Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 10 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781669872986
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Mousetree
 
The Beginning Book One
 
 
 
Written and Illustrated by Michael D. Malone
 
Copyright © 2023 by Michael D. Malone. 851212
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
 
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-7299-3

Hardcover
978-1-6698-7300-6

EBook
978-1-6698-7298-6
 
 
Rev. date: 04/10/2023
CONTENTS
Chapter 1 MOUSETREE
Chapter 2 MOUSETRAP
Chapter 3 MINDY’S ESCAPE
Chapter 4 A MOST SPECIAL PLACE
Chapter 5 WELCOME TO SANDFLAT
Chapter 6 Lijah
Chapter 7 MEANWHILE, BACK IN MOUSETREE
Chapter 8 BOOTS
Chapter 9 EVENING IN MOUSETRAP
Chapter 10 ROSEBUDS FOR DAISY
Chapter I1 MS. SOPHIE DISCOVERS A CLUE
Chapter 12 A NIGHT AT MS. EDNA’S
Chapter 13 A TALK WITH THE MOON
Chapter 14 THE CAMPFIRE HEATS UP
 

Chapter 1 MOUSETREE
There is a lone tree in the middle of a distant, wide-open prairie. Its silhouette stands as a pleasant break on the horizon. An old road, not much more than a trail anymore, winds near the solitary tree. This grand tree is magnificent. Its large boughs and dense foliage blanket the ground below in a cool, dark shade. A great wild grapevine snakes tightly around the trunk and weaves throughout the intricate branches.
A close look reveals a fortress of handsomely constructed interconnected buildings which surround the base of the massive trunk and serve as protective fencing to keep intruders out. A tiny pathway, scarcely noticeable, leads from the old road to an arched gateway at the entrance to the fortress.
The ancient grapevine is notched with tiny stairsteps that wind around and through the tree in a network of walkways. These walkways connect the countless tiny tree cottages that are built in every conceivable knothole, fork, nook, and cranny of the tree. The cottages have not been thrown together, mind you; they are well-planned permanent structures befitting the inhabitants of this tree village. The village is their home, and they call it, appropriately, Mousetree.

The story begins so simply within one of the Mousetree cottages nestled high in the tree. The season is late summer. For weeks, the days have been long and extremely hot. Not so much as a breeze has been felt since the beginning of the heat wave, causing the usual bustling activity of the residents to slow to a crawl.
It is a moonless, sweltering night; all of the tree cottages are dark and silent. The windows of every cottage are opened fully in hopes of catching even the slightest of possible breezes. Following hours of fitful attempts to fall asleep, the exhausted inhabitants of Mousetree now slept soundly as the temperature began to gradually drop. A slight breeze began to develop, bringing with it a pleasant coolness. Within one particular cottage, a little girl mouse pulls the covers up about her face as she sleeps. The breeze picks up strength, and a rumble of thunder can be heard faintly in the distance. The little girl mouse continues to sleep, curling into a little ball.
As the residents of Mousetree slumber in their peaceful and orderly world, none can know the little mouse village is about to be tested. The results of a simple, single incident—an accident, really—will reshape the destiny of all who call Mousetree home. Other lives in other communities will also be touched as the series of events starts to unfold.
Boom! the night sky suddenly roars, catapulting the child from her restful sleep to the security beneath her comfortable little bed. The little mouse curls back into a ball, as close to the corner as she could possibly get.

“Don’t worry,” she says reassuringly to the little mouse doll that she holds so tightly. “It’s just an old storm. It will pass soon.”
“Mirelda, honey,” comes an equally reassuring voice from outside the room. “Sweetheart, everything will be all right. Grannymouse is coming.” The sound of house shoes delicately scuffing the surface of the wooden floors can be heard as an elderly lady mouse makes her way to her granddaughter’s bed. Grannymouse holds a lighted candle in a tiny holder in one hand. The candlelight lights the room with a small but warm glow. Mirelda stops trembling immediately. “Grannymouse,” she says softly as she pokes her head out from under the bed, “are you okay?”
The warm candlelight suddenly explodes into a brilliant flash of daylight, followed by an immediate crash of thunder. In the blink of an eye, Mirelda is out from under the bed and clinging to Grannymouse.
“Dear, dear, Mirelda,” says Grannymouse. “Don’t be afraid, silly little mouse. It is just a thunderstorm, honey. We need the rain. It will pass quickly,” she says, stroking Mirelda’s little round head.
“I love you, Grannymouse,” says Mirelda as she hugs her grandmother tightly. “I always feel safe when you are with me.”
“Well, I love you too,” Grannymouse replies, hugging Mirelda back. “We always have each other. You don’t need to be afraid.” She takes Mirelda’s hand in her free hand and says, “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get into my big bed and maybe we can tell each other stories.” Grannymouse and Mirelda crawl into the large, comfortable bed. Grannymouse places the candleholder on a bedside table, then she stretches her body to blow out the flame.
“Granny,” says Mirelda, “can Mindy come over in the morning?”
“I see no reason why not,” Grannymouse says cheerily. “We will ask her mother in the morning.” After a few seconds, she adds, “I have an idea.”
“What?” Mirelda asks curiously.
“Why don’t the three of us make a big batch of cookies?” Grannymouse squeezes Mirelda’s arm. “The kind that you and Mindy like so well.”
“Oh, yes!” Mirelda says excitedly. “It has been a long, long time since we made cookies.”
“I know it, dear,” says Grannymouse in an apologetic tone, “but it has been such a hot summer. The stove just seems to make it even hotter.”
“Well, at least, the storm did make it cooler,” Mirelda notes.
“Exactly, Mirelda,” Grannymouse replies. “If it remains this cool tomorrow, I wouldn’t mind baking all day.”
“I’m sorry, Granny,” says Mirelda. “I know that we were going to tell each other stories, but I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“That is okay, little one,” says Grannymouse. “I am sleepy too. We always have tomorrow to tell each other stories.”
The lightning and thunder move on to frighten someone else. A gentle, steady rain takes its place. The pleasant sound soon lulls the two mice back into a deep and restful sleep.
A few short hours later, morning dawns in Mousetree. The sun shines brightly through the window in Grannymouse’s bedroom. A ray of sunlight is shining on Mirelda’s face when she awakes.
“Granny,” she says as she rolls over to where Grannymouse has been sleeping. She sees that her grandmother, always the early riser, is already up and about. She rolls back onto her back, enjoying the comfort of her grandmother’s big, soft bed. Although the sun is bright, the breeze coming in from the window is still pleasantly cool. Mirelda closes her eyes and listens to the gentle clinking and scuffing noises coming from the kitchen. The rich aroma of baking bread and cinnamon wafts into the room. The smell causes Mirelda to open her eyes and sit upright in bed. Soon, the sound of Grannymouse’s house shoes, scuffing along the floors, approaches the room. The footsteps sound lighter, somehow springier than usual. “The cool weather must be making Grannymouse happy today,” Mirelda thinks as her grandmother enters the room.
“Well, is my sleepyhead awake?” Grannymouse asks cheerily. “I felt so good this morning, I couldn’t stay in bed,” she says as she sits down on the bed beside Mirelda. “I have a surprise for you.”
“I think I know what it is!” Mirelda sings back to Grannymouse.
“Because I’ll bet you can smell them,” Grannymouse sings in reply. “I made some bread, and I had a little dough left,” she says.
“So you sprinkled it with sugar and cinnamon!” Mirelda finishes her grandmother’s sentence.
“Yes, cinnamon rolls!” she says excitedly. “And I caught Mindy’s mother walking by the kitchen window. She is on her way to get Mindy. She said that Mindy could spend the day with us.”
“What time did you wake up?” Mirelda asks. “You sound like you have already put in a full day’s work.”
“The morning was too nice for me to sleep.” And her smile is as beautiful as the morning. “Come on to the kitchen. Mindy will be here any minute.”
Mirelda hops out of bed. She runs to her room and changes into a crisp light blue dress. As she puts on an apron that ties around her waist, she remembers to get another apron out for Mindy to wear. The girls love to wear the aprons Grannymouse has made for them, especially since they have large pockets that always seem to come in handy. The happy little mouse is skipping toward the kitchen when she hears a knock at the door. “Granny, I’ll get it!” she shouts to her grandmother.
When Mirelda opens the door, Mindy doesn’t even say “Hello!” before she is crooning “Mmmm!” and then she