I Saw A Mouse!

I saw a mouse! Where? There, right there, in the kitchen of our flat in Eastbourne, and no it didn’t have clogs on, as in the children’s song! I have an irrational fear of mice and nearly had a heart attack on the spot when I saw the offending rodent. I truly believe I would prefer to confront a tiger rather than a humble mouse! I phoned my husband, David, and demanded he did something about our unwelcome house guest, IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner! When he arrived home he admitted that he had noticed the mouse a few days previously, but was not too bothered by it! This mouse was not in the least bit shy, or backward in coming forward. I swear it sensed my terror and was sticking two whiskers up at me. I completely lost it and barricaded myself in the bedroom whilst David watched TV in the lounge. I later learned that the mouse sat companionably by his foot throughout the programme!

The next day I went to the nearest hardware store and purchased a humane mousetrap, baited it with a bit of cheese and went out. Within the hour, the mouse was caught and awaited David’s arrival home from the university, before being released outside. We baited the trap again just to check that the mouse’s friends and relations had not decided to avail themselves of our hospitality! So far the trap remains empty. Nobody else in the flats has had a problem with mice, so we are hoping ‘Monty’, as David christened it, was a one off.

One can only wonder at the psychology behind such a phobia. My head tells me that a small mouse cannot hurt me, yet the fear is undiminished. I have absolutely no fear of spiders or snakes. I owned a tarantula spider until it went to the big cobweb in the sky a few years ago. Last year I found a snake in the middle of the road, I think it was an adder. I had no hesitation about moving it to a place of safety. Both the spider and snake were potentially dangerous, yet I had no qualms about being around them. One day medical science might be able to fully explain why some people, like me, suffer from irrational phobias, and hopefully find a cure.