Stories: The Mouse and the Douglas-Fir Cone
Retold by:
Claralynn Nunamaker
Laytonville California
Long, long ago there lived a mouse in the
forest.
The mouse was fearful all day and all night, for the sly fox always tried to
catch him and eat up him.
The mouse was very clever and was able to hide from the fox for
a long, long time. But one day, he let his attention wander, and before he knew
it, the fox was right there!
The mouse was very scared and ran
off as fast as he could. But he knew the fox was faster, so frantically he
searched for a place to hide.
He spied a cone that he thought was big enough to hide him, so he scurried
inside. Well, he was hidden well enough that the fox couldn't find him, but
really the cone was too small.
And to this day, you can see the hind legs and the tail of the
mouse sticking out from the Douglas-fir cone, where he is STILL hiding from the
fox!
