The Mouse Who Listened to the Rain's Secrets

Once upon a very long time ago—so long that the rain hadn’t quite learned how to fall in perfect little drops—there was a mouse. But not just any mouse, mind you! This was a Mouse who lived inside a cosy holiday camper, with a window that looked out upon the whole world. Now, the rain was his oldest friend, you see. It would tap, tap, tap upon his window whenever it had stories to tell.

 And so it was, on this very day, with the candle flickering and the smell of sandwiches drifting up to his twitchy little nose, that the rain began to speak.

 ‘Mouse, oh Mouse!’ it murmured, drumming on the roof, ‘do you hear me? For I’ve travelled all the way from the tops of the mountains, from the bellies of clouds, and through the swaying trees. I’ve secrets for your ears alone, if only you’ll listen.’

 And Mouse, wrapped in his snug woolen blanket, tilted his head and pricked his whiskers. ‘Oh, Rain,’ he said, ‘tell me all you’ve seen! Tell me of the places you’ve been and the lands you’ve passed over!’

 The rain chuckled—a soft, silvery sound, like the patter of drops upon the earth. ‘Ah, Mouse, you’ve not yet seen the rivers winding beneath the moss-covered bridges, nor heard the lullabies the wind sings to the gorse and the heather. I have danced with the oak and whispered through the ivy. I’ve kissed the bramble and caressed the nettle.’

 ‘Oh,’ sighed Mouse, ‘what a journey! And did you find a place where all is still and quiet?’

 The rain paused, thoughtful now. ‘No, dear Mouse. For where I go, the earth is always alive, always in motion. The world breathes beneath my fall and stirs under my touch.’

 Mouse sipped his tea and smiled, for now he knew the answer to a riddle he'd been pondering all along: why, even when the world outside was rainy and grey, his heart felt full of life.

 And so, dear friend, the next time the rain knocks on your window, listen closely, for it carries the whispers of the world—just for you.”

 And that, of course, is how it came to be that Mouse never minded the rain again. For he knew that wherever it fell, it carried with it the stories of Nature herself, from the moss to the mountains, from the rivers to the roots. And if you listen, as Mouse did, you just might hear those stories too.

 To bring this story to life, I’ve created a special illustration capturing Mouse in his cosy camper on a rainy day, listening to the whispers of the world outside. You can now bring this magical scene into your own home as a print or send as an eGreeting, available for purchase in Mouses Emporium Online Shop now.