A Wood Rat's Tale

A few years back my husband and I were visiting an old farmstead owned by a friend of ours. No one had lived on the property for several years and we were spending the weekend there in our motorhome. There were several old buildings including a small house.

After working our way through a tangle of blackberry vines, with only minor injuries, we finally got into the house. It was small with only one bedroom, a kitchen, bath and a small living area. In what had been the kitchen a part of the roof had fallen in and one window was missing. The bedroom was also missing it's windows and the blackberry vines were starting to work their way into the room.

I was in the bedroom looking through the assortment of stuff that had been left behind. There was part of an old sewing machine, a wooden ironing board and lots of old magazines. All of this had been exposed to the weather for many years.

As I sorted through what was left of the magazines my husband watched from the doorway. As we talked about what we knew of the history of the house we heard a noise. We watched as a wood rat emerged from the corner.

Now it's time for the famous last words. My husband asked me what I would do if the rat ran in my direction. Would I "jump up and down and scream like a girl?" I just looked at the rat, then looked at my husband standing in the doorway. I stomped my feet which startled the rat who of course ran. He ran straight for my husband. Have you ever seen a grown man jump three feet and "scream like a girl"? It was a sight to behold.

While we stood there laughing the rat had climbed up into the wall. We saw him peaking out. The poor little guy seemed to be trying to figure out why his quite house had been invaded.