Morris the Mouse
Morris the Mouse was not really a mouse. He was much larger than a mouse. He was even larger than a rat. But he got that name from peers and we all know how peers can mess with you, especially when you're not very tall.
Morris stood 4 feet 8 inches high in his bare feet. Pretty short guy... short but not small, but peer groups don't differentiate between one being short and one being small. No, those folks just liked to make fun of Morris and Morris put up with it because he had no other friends, although the word 'friend' was not really what his peers were. They were more like acquaintances... and not very friendly acquaintances at that, but Morris had little choice (no pun intended) in the matter.
Morris lived in a small community and like all small communities, people were scarce and one had to become one of the community or become a hermit and being a hermit was not Morris' bag... he had a very extroverted personality. But he had a difficult time expressing his extroverted-ness to his peers because of the nickname they gave him - the mouse .
"What are you squeaking about?" they would ask and then laugh as if that was funny. Morris would smile but deep down inside he would shed a tear.
"Why do they call me names and make fun of my height," he would often ask himself when he was lying in bed at night before going to sleep... "Why? Why?"
One summer day when he and his friends were out playing, one of the kids, Homer, who was a large boy that was a born trouble maker, got stuck in a culvert pipe while trying to catch a stray dog. The other kids had grabbed and tugged on his feet but couldn't get Homer out of the pipe.
Homer started getting scared and kept yelling "Help me! Help me get out of here!" But nobody could do anything. Should somebody run into town and get the cops or maybe the firemen? They stood around scratching their heads and tried to find an answer, but nobody volunteered to run back to town... nobody but Morris.
"Yeah! Morris will go!!!" they exclaimed in unison.
Morris felt for the first time like he was needed.... that he could do something that would make him feel good and maybe his friends would stop making fun of his height. He took off running down the road...
... but moments later he stopped. He began walking back to his companions. "What are you doing, mouse? one of the guys asked. "Why aren't you getting Homer some help?"
Morris didn't say anything but walked over to where Homer was laying, firmly planted into the pipe up to his waist, and took Homer's shoes off and then his socks.
"Come on 'mouse' what’re you doing?" another one asked.
Morris began tickling Homer's bare feet and was telling him how big and dumb he was for getting himself stuck like this.
Homer roared out "I'm going to get you, you little mouse. You just wait and see! Homer's voice echoed loudly through the culvert pipe and his roar sounded extremely loud coming out the other end ... like a giant angered, and Homer's body began moving... thrusting about he squirmed and kicked his legs... all the while Morris kept tickling Homer's feet... until bam! Homer was free.
"You Mouse!!" Homer yelled... "I'm gonna stomp you like the mouse you are.." and he began approaching Morris, who stood his ground and smiled at Homer.
"Want your shoes and socks back, Homer?" Morris asked, holding them out to Homer.
Homer stopped still and his eyes grew wide, his body grew stiff and he stood there looking down at Morris. A smile grew over his lips and his eyes began to sparkle... a laughter came out of his mouth that was loud and filled with joy. "Sure, Morris, I'll take those," as Morris lifted the socks and shoes up so Homer could take them.
The other kids were quiet because they knew how mean Homer could be. They had seen him mad before, but this laughter of his wasn't him... it was weird and they kept silent while watching all this happen. Was he going to hurt 'mouse' for tickling his feet? What was Homer going to do to Morris..?
After Homer got his socks and shoes back on he stood up and said to Morris, You want a ride, Morris? I'll give you a ride back to town on my shoulders.. okay?
"Sure, Homer. I'd like that..." and Morris walked over to Homer. Homer lifted him up and placed him on his shoulders. Morris was now the tallest guy in the group and he felt big. All the other kids gave him a pat and said nice things to him - "Good thinkin', Morris" and "That was pretty smart of you, Morris" always calling him by his name now...
That night as Morris lay in his bed thinking about the day he discovered something about himself... that it is not how tall you are or how short you are, but how big your help is to others that really matters.
cecil
11 May 2008
cecilism
_______
the
Greatest Gift
to bestow upon
your children is
Confidence
for it is
only with this
that they
may truly
succeed
_______
_______
the
Greatest Gift
to bestow upon
your children is
Confidence
for it is
only with this
that they
may truly
succeed
_______
& completely agree. i wish my dad believed that.