Eeeeeek!

Last night just after little j and I got home I looked at the door to the backyard and Minou was coming in with a mouse in her mouth. Normally this would not be cause for alarm, but it was still alive and when it wiggled Minou dropped it in the kitchen.

Now, I'm not particularly scared of mice, but I really don't want one in my house. Of course it immediately ran under the cookbook shelves. Minou saw it and ran over, as did I. Although what I was going to do I had no idea -- obviously I wasn't going to catch it with my hands. At this point little j figured out something was wrong, probably because of my unusual high pitched squeal (really, I wasn't afraid!).

Between Minou and I we were able to get the mouse out from under the bookshelf but then we both chased it under the kitchen table and it escaped under the bookshelf for a second time. This time I was prepared with a plastic container. Minou got the mouse out and, horror of horrors, it ran by little j and into the living room behind the couch. At this point, little j was crying and I was trying to calm her down while trying to figure out where the mouse went. I grabbed Minou and dropped her in the living room to search for the mouse while I took little j outside and told her to wait. Minou and I finally cornered the mouse and I covered it with the plastic container and slipped a piece of cardboard underneath.

Then I didn't know what to do. There was no way I could kill it, but little j wanted me to throw it in the garbage can. I couldn't throw it in the garbage can still alive. So, I called Big J. He told me to let it go in the trees away from the house. He talked to little j while I let it go. It took her a while to calm down and she was finally able to tell me that she didn't like mice and she didn't want it in the house -- yeah, me too!

This is the first time Minou has brought a mouse in. I don't expect it to be her last, but I hope the next time it's not alive and Big J is home.