Did you think of the old nursery rhyme, “Three Blind Mice,” when you read the title? I was raised on fairy tales and nursery rhymes, but I did not like that one. That makes what happened to me very ironic.
A few weeks ago, one of our friends bought new furniture for her house. She asked us to help to move out her old furniture so she could make room for her new stuff. Of course, we agreed. Tim and I cleaned out one of her bedrooms. In it was an old dresser that had been given to her by a family member. When she first received it, she crammed some things into it and basically forgot about it.
Tim took hold of one side of the dresser and I did the other. We fully expected to slide it out of the room. Nope. This thing wasn’t going anywhere. By the way, Tim is very strong, so if he can’t move something, then it’s extremely heavy. We took the mirror off of the old dresser but it still wouldn’t budge. I suggested taking it apart in the room since our friend didn’t want it any more. He took a hammer and hit around on it a few times. Basically, the hammer bounced off without causing any damage. Not being one to give up, I suggested getting his chainsaw and sawing into pieces. Tim answered that it would make too much of a mess inside the house.
The only other option was to make the dresser as light as we could. Tim took off the two side cabinet doors. Next, I began to take out the drawers in the middle of it. When I opened the second drawer, I saw a mess of paper that looked as if it had been shredded. Tim said, “That is a mouse’s nest.” I proceeded to take out the bottom drawer and saw another nest. The only nests I want to see are bird’s nests in trees and bushes.
Using the vacuum cleaner, I began to clean out the inside of the dresser since I didn’t want any nasty “stuff” to get strewn through the house. Fortunately for me, the vacuum had a light on the wand. When I moved the wand to the right corner, I saw three little bodies. My first thought was they were dead. Then I saw them move.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3 (KJV)
When we saw the mouse’s nest, I should have stopped and thought, “If mice were in the dresser at one time, maybe they’re are still inside of it.” Instead, I continued on as if the mice were completely out of the house. Not very prudent on my part. And if I had stuck my hand in that space instead of vacuuming first, I could’ve been bitten by one them. So, always be on guard against evil and not assume that it can’t happen to us or be around us.
With a loud gasp, I dropped the wand. Immediately, I looked up at Tim. His face expression was one of fear. After I told him there were mice, his looked relieved. Later, he told me that he thought I had seen a snake.
If that had been the case, he would’ve beaten me out the door.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.