Mustard and His Grand Plan!
“But I’m just a little mouse,” Mustard said to his reflection in the shiny toaster. “What significant act could I do?”
Mustard had a lot of doubt from years of others transferring their doubts onto him. But despite carrying the weight of the doubting thoughts, he was equally optimistic and, thankfully, a little stubborn. “There has to be something!”
Mustard always wanted to be someone who did a big act despite his size and his species. He tried picking up the drums (acorn shells and other bits & bobs for a kit) so that he could be a big-time rockstar, but it just allowed the house cat to know exactly where he was at all times. And for a mouse, that really isn’t a great idea.
He let that idea go.
As he nibbled on the page of a tasty poetry book, he thought that maybe his big act could be writing. So, he found some spilled ketchup missed by the human of the house and dipped his tail into it. At worst, he could always lick away the ketchup and delight in its tangy flavor. But his optimism inspired him to use the red sauce to write his first word.
“Wait a minute!” said Mustard, with his tail a centimeter from the blank page. “I don’t know how to write!”
While licking his tail clean, he decided to add ‘learning to write’ to the mental list of future studies.
You see, Mustard wasn’t a very patient creature and, although he loved to learn, he didn’t want to take the time to learn something in order to do some big act or some grand gesture to make his name known. His list of things to learn was actually a rather long list, indeed.
But, dear reader, if you just make a list of things you want to learn or do and never start one, well, you end up with nothing but a condiment on your tail or maybe not even that.
To continue…
While on another hike around the house, he found a cozy basket of laundry. And it was in that pile of cloth he came up with his greatest idea yet.
He chewed and tore and tied until he made the perfect cape and mask for himself.
“I will be a Super Mouse Hero!” Mustard declared. “The first one of its kind.” (Shhh! Don’t tell him about Mighty Mouse, yet! Let him have his moment.)
And as he tightened his mask and smoothed out his cape, he struck a confident superhero pose in the beam of sunlight that filtered through the window.
A note to the reader:
At present, Mustard is so caught up in wearing the mask and the cape that he has momentarily forgotten about the importance of wanting to do some big act. As of right now, wearing a cool cape and mask seems to be quite satisfying for him. Therefore, the Storidoodle ends here for now.
I will be sure to let you know if the newness of a cape and mask wears off for Mustard and he gets back to chasing his big dream. However, maybe he has actually found his dream, after all.
-Autumn the Storidoodler
