In the Land of Oz, there is a small
town that few of heard of and even fewer have been to. It is located in Winkie
Country and wedged just between Jack Pumpkinhead’s pumpkin patch and the
Emerald City. The reason this land is so often overlooked is because of its
small size. The name of this small land is Rodensin and it is home to many, if
not all of the small mice in the whole land. The Foxes in Foxville, the same
that have dubbed themselves the cleverest animals of the land, used to hunt the
mice as a side to their poultry dishes. The oldest mouse, Ramskes, tells of the
mice’s escape to safety. He is an old and frail mouse that walks with a limp,
but still has a gleam in his eye. Some say that it’s a will to fight a final battle;
others say it’s his dream of hope to live and show the Foxes of Foxville who
the true cleverest animals are. He
explains how to any and all creatures that comes to ask, as I have.
“King Dox sent out his best men to
collect the mice to cook for the evening feast. But the King’s downfall is that
he thought him and his kind to be the cleverest of all animals, and how can a
mere mouse defeat that of the cleverest of animals? Unlike the foxes, mice know
how to run and dodge, but what makes mice truly the cleverest is the fact that
they know how to hide. Mice can hide behind things, but they also know how to
make hiding places. They burro underground, scurry up the trees, jump in bushes
and can even hop across the tiniest pebbles with ease. Foxes try, but always
fall or get caught up in the bush. Mice know their size and skill and that
there are other predators trying to catch them. Knowing this is what makes the
mice truly the cleverest in all of Oz.
Once the foxes grew weary of trying
to catch the mice, they found a quail and caught it instead. The mice took this
opportunity to run. They ran to Dunkerton, where King Kick-a-bray welcomed
them. He agreed that they were truly cleverer than King Dox and his Foxes, but
surely they were not cleverer than him nor his Donkeys. The mice, tired and
hungry from their long journey, agreed and humbly accepted their offers of food
and a place to sleep for the night. Early the next morning, for mice slept much
less than donkeys, the mice took all that their little bodies could carry and
went on their way. Thus proving once again, that mice are truly the cleverest
of all creatures.
Walking a little longer, they
encountered the Scoodlers. One of the massive white faces saw the mice and
alerted the others. He took off his head and threw it at the mice, who dodged
and ran away. When the other Scoodlers came and saw nothing, they saw nothing,
the Scoodlers had the one who saw the mice pick up his head, and the Queen
ordered him to the dungeon as insane. Easily passing the Scoodlers, the mice
arrived at the Deadly Dessert. But again, the mice proved themselves to be
truly the cleverest; they fastened leaves to their feet, and crossed with ease.
Arriving at Winkie Country, they crossed through without being seen as anything
more than common house mice. Finally running out of their supplies from
Dunkerton, they came across a lush field with large gourds growing everywhere.
They decided to set up a permanent dwelling here, where they were close enough
to visit the Emerald City, but not so close that the green would hurt their
tiny eyes.
One day, a tall lanky man picked up
one of the houses and discovered the mice living in his gourds.
“Hello there mice! My name is Jack
Pumpkinhead, and you are living in not only my patch, but in one of my new
heads!”
“I’m so
sorry,” said Winks, our leader at the time, “but you see we have rum away from
always being hunted by the foxes of Foxville,”
“How
dreadful!” Jack exclaimed
“And then
we left Dunkerton and narrowly escaped the Scoodlers. After crossing the Deadky
Dessert, we were tired and hungry. That’s when we came upon your pumpkin patch.
The leaves and grass here are simply divine and the sturdiness of the vines and
gourds act as lovely shelter. We would very much appreciate it if you would be
so kind as to let us live here.” Winks finished with a bow.
“I’m
flattered, truly I am,” Jack replied. “But I cannot let you live throughout my
whole pumpkin patch, for you see I will run out of heads! However, if you would
like to inhabit the very outskirt of my patch, I will allow you to do so, most
welcome.” The mice agreed and were ecstatic that they finally had a place to
call home.”
After
Ramskes finishes the tale, I look around. Not truly realizing or understanding
where I have been standing all along. I have to crouch to notice it, but what
looks like old vines are actually vines with openings for doors and windows
gnawed out. To the left of my foot, what seems to be an old pumpkin, is
actually a multi-level home. I look inside one of the closer windows and it
comes fully furnished with little twigs tied together to make tables, small
acorns used for ups and acorn tops as plates, woven grass as rugs and feathers
placed on a stand that I can only assume to be a bed. Marking the edge of the
patch stands a tall tree where, yet again upon further inspection, turns out to
be a multi-level building.
“There is
only one thing we ask of you, visitor,” a plump mouse says stepping forward. “We
ask that you keep this area safe by forgetting that you have ever come here.”
He scurries up the tree faster than I expected, and sits on a branch near my
face so that I may see him more on an equal level. “We mice prefer to stay
peaceful, but if you betray us, we will have to keep you here and turn you into
a mouse forever. Do we have an agreement?” This plump ball of fluff asks
thrusting out a paw. I nod and hand him a finger. We shake and part ways.
As I leave I think of how I would
have completely missed this town if I didn’t know where to look. I heard the tale of a mouse land from a
passing stranger on my way to visit the Emerald City, and thought him crazy. It
turns out the man wasn’t so crazy after all. But then I think about how I had
to make an agreement to not tell of this place. Did he have to make the same
agreement? If so, then what will happen to him? I shake it off, thinking of how
the man must be far from this magical land altogether and continue on my way to
the Emerald City, but in the distance, I could have sworn I heard screaming.
