Once upon a time, there was a little mouse named Dickens who lived with his family in a hole under a clock in a palace. Dickens had a big family, and they always fought over the tasty treats that Dickens would find to eat. One day, Dickens smelled a scent he had never smelled before. He stuck his head out of the hole. He sniffed, once, twice. He crept out from under the clock. He sniffed again. It smelled good, like fruit.
He followed the tasty scent down the hall, up the stairs, and into the kitchen. A big dish full of round, blue balls sat on a big table. He climbed up, up, up to the dish. He pulled a blue ball out of the dish and sampled it. HE LOVED IT! It was sweet, chewy, and ripe. He took one more tiny nibble and scampered down the table with the ball in his mouth. He wanted to show it to his family.
Back at the hole, the family was taking turns eating the wonderful fruit. “It’s good!” cried his mother. “More please?” asked his baby sister. “What is this thing??!!” screeched his grandpa. “I don’t know, but there is a BIG bowl of them.” Dickens replied, twitching his tail eagerly. “Then let’s get some more of those mystery fruits!” exclaimed his aunt Jilly. “Okay, follow me!” Dickens cried.
A large procession of mice crept sneakily, following Dickens to the table. Then each mouse took a piece of fruit until the dish was empty. Then they tossed the fruit to Dickens, who stayed at the bottom to take the fruit to their hole. When the fruit was all tucked away, the mice started home. Then, they heard something that stopped them in their tracks. The princess was sobbing. “My dad never gets me blueberries! Those were a birthday g-g-gift, and n-n-n-now I’ll never g-g-get them again!”
Slowly, slowly, one by one, the mice picked up the berries and shuffled back to the table. “Are these yours?” Dickens squeaked. At first the princess was startled to see so many mice, but then, she took the berries, washed them, and put them back in the bowl. “Thank you…I have an idea. Here!” She gave the mice 5 perfect little blueberries. “Is that enough?” she asked. “Yes. Perfect.” Dickens smiled. And it was, for the princess had her birthday berries, Dickens had his berry snack, and they all had a lasting friendship. THE END.
