Rodent Spotlight: Harvest Mouse

Ah! The harvest mouse! Behold one of the tiniest mice in all the world. Also known as the European Dwarf Mouse, this little guy sees things from a very minuscule perspective. Mice are already known for being exceptionally small, but these guys win the prize at 6cm from head to tail.

There is something quite endearing about the harvest mouse. If you ever met one, you might take note about how affectionate they can be. If I was that small, I'd wanna make friends with anyone I could. You know what they say about friends in high places. Being so small can seem lonely. You'd have to live in those paws to understand what I mean.

Imagine if I was a harvest mouse named Sesame. I would spend much of my time staying inside of a little hidy-hole. When the world is so big, it's a very hard thing to build up the courage to face it. But staying indoors is okay. I have two other harvest mice who are my friends. There's Speck who trembles a lot, and also, there is Pinch who likes to talk about all the scary things in the world. It makes him feel better. We three are inseparable and love each other very much. We even like to twist our tails together to let each other know we are close by.

I can't even imagine being alone. Sometimes I have to go out into the world to look for food. I feel like one little pebble in a rushing stream that is just trying so hard to take me away. I always wondered why it had to be this way. Friends as small as me are hard to come by. There are, of course, insects to talk to, but I always end up eating them on accident.

There are days... There are days when I sit at the entrance to my hidy-hole with Speck and Pinch looking up at all the trees, and I wonder where it all ends. It doesn't seem to end. Speck doesn't think it does, but I do wonder. When the world is so big, it still somehow feels like it has you trapped. It's like everything around you is trying to step on you. I really do like being in my hidy-hole.

I'm not sure anyone will ever write about us. I don't even think they know we are here. Maybe, they do. If they did, I'd sure love it if they'd write our story. Maybe someday, people will notice us and make sure we don't come to any harm. If a human tried to make friends with me, I wouldn't mind. But until that day, I'm just gonna sit here in my hidy-hole with Speck and Pinch and imagine of less oppressive times--like a world where everything is as big as we are. It's okay to dream.

Thank you for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Squeak.