“There's a mouse in the hall! Kill it, Mr. Robinson!”
The social studies teacher delivered a look of searing disapproval at the girl who had run into his classroom. “Why on earth would you kill it, Kara?”
“Because...because....it's gross?” she stuttered.
There were several screams in the hall, and Josh Robinson stood up from his desk, sighing. “Sit down, Kara, and next time you need the bathroom, don't take a world tour in addition. Now everyone stay here while I save this poor animal. It doesn't want to be in here anymore than you want it to be.” He picked up a cardboard box and folder, and ventured into the hall.
Already there was a group of several excited children pointing out the frightened field mouse as it tried to find somewhere to hide. Josh took up most of the class time saving the shaking rodent, but he managed to coax it into a corner where he pushed it into the box and shut the lid. He released it outside, and returned to his classroom, which was in an uproar.
“Guys, who's afraid of mice here?” he felt impelled to ask.
Two girls hesitantly raised their hands.
“Why?” Josh had never understood how such a cute, furry, little animal could possibly seem so threatening to anyone.
“My mom is.”
“Okay, but why is she?”
The child pondered this for moments. “I don't know.”
He turned to the other girl. “Tracy, why are you?”
“They have diseases?”
“Okay, well, that makes a little bit of a sense. But then stay away from them if you're worried about that. And honestly, if animals feel sick, they usually go hide somewhere. They don't go after people.”
“Rabid ones do,” said one boy.
“Actually, most rabid animals go off to die...And Sari,” he turned his attention to the first girl. “Your mother's scared of them, you don't know why, and yet you've decided you're scared of them too?”
She nodded slowly.
“We need a classroom pet,” Josh decided.
After staying after school to finish grading papers, he drove past the shop on his usual route home. Oddly, the store seemed to be open. A woman was peering out the door, and beside her was a sign which read “mice and cages 75% off today only, 5-6PM.”
It was five-thirty, and the shop had always closed promptly at five.
Whatever. He pulled into the parking lot, exited his car, and the woman held the door open for him. She was dressed rather fancily, in a goddess-like dress and sandals, and she was definitely not the usual pet shop employee. “This just worked out great,” he told her as he entered. “I'm looking for a mouse for my classroom.”
“You're all set.”
She had a large glass aquarium tank on the front counter all set up with shavings, food, and a running wheel inside. She picked up a pretty white female and handed to him. He accepted the animal in shock, petting it gently.
“She likes you,” the woman murmured.
“She's a cute one,” Josh said, trying to size the woman up as she took the mouse from him and placed her into the cage. “Do mice even use hamster wheels?”
“If they're smart,” she winked at him.
What was that supposed to mean? Why the wink? She was making him nervous. He needed to get out of there as soon as he could. Grabbing at his wallet, he inquired, “How much?”
“Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of making you pay, Josh. You deserve this and much more.”
How did she know his name? He had often frequented the shop, getting supplies for his cats and dog, but he had never laid eyes on this beautiful proprietor before.
“What did I do?” he uttered with unease.
“Oh, what didn't you do? You're very good to animals. Always have been. And today, you went way out of your way to save my little baby that strayed into your school.”
Little baby? He was very confused. “Was it your pet?”
“Oh, they're all my pets, my babies. Every living being is mine. Well, I don't like to claim mankind as 'mine', but you're animals. Well, many of you are worse than animals.” Her face went dark for a moment, and Josh wondered if the woman had a screw loose.
“I'm Mother Nature.”
Josh sighed, pulling out a wad of cash and throwing it onto the counter. It was a shame that the woman was delusional. She really was extremely attractive. “Thanks, Mother Nature. I don't want to be beholden to you. I have to go set the cage up in my classroom.”
The cash disappeared, and when he stuck his hand in his pocket, it was there. He gaped at her. What kind of magician was she? A sleight-of-hand artist? “Cute,” he said, picking up the cage.
“Here, let me help you.” She took it from him, and Josh felt a jolt.
They were standing in his classroom.
Josh fell to the floor in amazement, and Mother Nature laughed, placing the cage on a table. “That's why I took the her from you. Don't want you to hurt or drop her.”
Slowly, Josh rose, not bothering to dust himself off. His eyes were locked on the woman in front of him. “What...how...Drugs?”
She cackled. “Drugs? No. Teleportation...yes!”
“Um...what do you want from me?” His shaky knees were threatening to land him back on the floor.
“Nothing. I want to reward you, I told you. You're a good person, good to animals, and you're even teaching children to be good with them.” She petted the mouse's head. “She'll be great with the kids,” she said. “Such a sparkling personality for a mouse. Would you like to join her?”
“Join her in what?”
“Would you like to be a mouse?”
He stared at her. After what had befallen him, he could almost believe she was serious.
“If that even were possible, why would I want that?”
“It's lovely?”
“Yes, maybe, until some hawk flies off with me and has me for dinner.”
“You can share the cage with my cutie here. She'll love the company, and you'll be safe, pampered, and fed to your heart's content.”
“And the kids could torture me. Maybe it's not a great idea to have a pet in the classroom after all.”
“No, you'll be a good owner for her.”
“I can't miss school to be a mouse,” he said, wondering just why he had bothered to emit such a ridiculous comment.
“You can be one at night, and then in the morning I'll turn you back.”
He shook his head. This woman was really persuading him to become a mouse. Although a mini-vacation sounded nice...
“How can I be a mouse? I'm huge, and–”
Suddenly the woman grew large, towering over him with a very satisfied smile on her face. “And I'm Mother Nature. I can make you whatever I want you to be.” She shrank back to his level, and he simply remained frozen in place.
“So, ready?”
“I don't have clothes for tomorrow morning.”
A suit appeared on one of the chairs. “I'm a pretty good designer too.”
“Will it hurt?”
Mother Nature pulled him in front of her. “They all ask that. Do you really think I'd allow you pain if I'm trying to reward you for good behavior? No, it doesn't hurt. I can make transforming feel quite wonderful, if you'll allow it.”
“I'll be happy to allow it.” He was still unsure about this whole transformation idea, but the powerful woman before him seemed hell-bent on him enjoying himself, so...what the hell? He was single, forty, and...about to turn into a mouse.
She swept her finger across his shoulder, and the very slight contact introduced an odd sensation. It crept over his body, taking him over, sending him into a pleasurable trance. He almost did not notice that he was shrinking rapidly to the floor, for he was staring at the light brown fur sprouting from every viewable bit of his skin. His hands were growing claws, and he assumed his feet were too, except they were somewhere deep in his shoes. Something made him twitch above his backside, and in a state of shock, he found he could wiggle the tail that was now part of him.
He was being buried under his clothes, and suddenly all went dark and still. His body felt drastically different, he was well-aware that he was now on all fours, but he couldn't see a thing. Wherever he was, however, had a rather unpleasant odor.
He tried to yell, but it came out as a sad squeak. Yes, he was definitely a mouse.
Something scooped him up from the smelly darkness, and he quickly realized he was now in the palm of Mother Nature's hand. She smiled down at him and petted him, which felt very nice as well as calming. “You were stuck in the toe of your shoe,” she explained with a chuckle. “Sometimes I change people with their clothes, other times I don't. It is kind of fun to see you get swallowed up by material.”
I don't think it was that fun, Josh thought to himself.
“Oh, Josh, lighten up, you cute little guy!” She drew him towards her face and made a kissing motion.
Do you hear my thoughts?
“Of course I do. How do you think I communicate with people I've transformed?”
So you do this a lot?
“Kafka's 'Metamorphosis', Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'? Not all fiction, my friend.”
The little mouse gulped.
“Are you even going to check yourself out? Dote over my handiwork a bit?”
Josh looked down at himself, running a paw down his furry front. This is unreal! I never thought for a moment this could be possible...
She set him down on the ground. “Run around a bit and get used to four feet,” she instructed.
This was easier said than done. Josh had a bit of trouble coordinating his back legs to move with his front legs, and ended up with a gait that was more feline than mouse-like. He also kept making sideways glances at Mother Nature's enormous feet, for fear that she might make a misstep...
Suddenly he was scooped up again, and something deep inside of him made him want to flee.
“That's your mouse instincts kicking in.”
Mouse instincts?
“You're a mouse, Josh. You have a human mind in a mouse's body. The longer you're in one, the more the mouse part of you is going to win out.”
This introduced all kinds of worries into Josh's mind, but the woman swept her finger across his back again, inserting a supreme tranquility into his slight form, and he knew everything would be fine. Everything was alright, life was good, and he liked the way it felt being furry.
Before Mother Nature left, she had filled the cage with delicacies that appealed to his mouse appetite. He set on a piece of cheddar, enjoying the feeling of his long incisors piercing its soft surface. He had never realized how delicious cheese was – there were so many underlying flavors that he had never detected with his human tastebuds...
Suddenly his meal was wrenched from his claws. He let out a squeak of protest, but quieted down when he saw that the female mouse had taken it for herself.
He studied her as she feasted on the treat, wondering what it was like to be her. She was not thinking as he was; she had a base, animal brain. She was simply enjoying herself, not worrying about her job, or her bills, or the state of the world beyond...
The female paused, sniffing towards him. She placed down the cheese carefully and approached. Amused, he watched her maneuver on her delicate legs. She was even prettier than she had seemed in the pet shop, her snowy coat silky and well-kempt. He rubbed his own brown paw against his face to smooth out his whiskers.
She crushed her nose against his coat, inhaling his scent deeply. She did smell very nice, he had to admit.
She began circling him, rubbing her head against him, sticking her tail up in the air suggestively...
Oh God. She's in heat, Josh realized in sudden horror.
He backed away, but the female came towards him, turning her rear to his face.
Oh...oh, no...not good... Josh scuttled into the hamster wheel and began to run furiously.
She remained in front of the wheel, and every time Josh slowed down, she tried to climb in, so he started up again. As the night wore on, the little male mouse grew very exhausted.
At some point, the female settled into the shavings and fell asleep in front of him. Josh, too scared to leave, fell into a fitful sleep inside the semi-safe confines of his wheel.
It was a tortured, uncomfortable night.
Sometime after dawn, Josh awoke, thirsty and quite starved. It took him a moment to place where and what he was, and when this passed, he observed the female for a moment. She seemed deeply asleep, so he ventured out. The wheel creaked, and the female stirred, but did not wake. Josh crept over to the water, drinking rapidly, and then sat down and devoured several chunks of cheese.
A feast fit for a king, he thought to himself. A mouse king, at least.
His tiny stomach was filled to the brim with food, and his eyelids drooped. He was still very tired, but he couldn't sleep here. He had to get back to the safety of the wheel. He crept across the tank and past the female. But her eye opened, and she jumped up, stretching sleepily.
Oh, no, Josh mumbled in his mind, and his pulse quickened. The female darted after him, catching his long tail in her teeth and sinking them down on them. “Damn it to hell!” he tried to cry, but it came out as a shrilly squeak. For a moment, he could not get over how bizarre it felt having pain in a body part that one wasn't meant to have. He whipped his tail back and forth despite the pain, and she released it. Making a dash to the wheel, he entered and began to run as if his life depended on it.
Desperately, the female fought to get inside with him. But he couldn't let her. He wouldn't do anything to hurt or compromise the little animal. However attractive he was as a mouse, he was really a man, and he did not belong with her.
Eventually his small legs grew weak from exertion, and as he slowed, she managed to crawl inside with him. By now she was nearly attacking him, and he wondered if this was normal female mouse behavior, or if Mother Nature had simply matched him up with an insane rodent. She wanted him, she was suffocating him with her body....
Oh, God! Mother Nature! Help me! Please, get me out of here!
He was suddenly in the grip of an enormous hand. “Ah, the mouse that roared!”
You're well-versed in our culture, huh? He asked ruefully of his savior, thankful for her perfect timing. That must have been some kind of goddess personality trait, he reasoned in his scattered thoughts.
“I'm well-versed in fourth-century Roman prose too. I was there! I'm well-versed in everything, Josh. Now,” she put him on the desk at the head of the classroom. “Was she bothering you?”
Bothering? She wouldn't leave me alone!
“So?” Mother Nature winked at him.
He gaped at her incredulously. NO! Just...no! She's a mouse!
“And so are you.”
The idea of mating with a mouse was too outrageous to ponder. Mother Nature, this has been nice, and I appreciate your gift, but I think I'm ready to be myself again.
The goddess-woman looked slightly remorseful. “You didn't enjoy yourself.”
Well, I...it was very interesting, and it felt nice, and I liked all the cheese... Josh was beginning to get larger without realizing it.
“But?”
Suddenly he was able to talk again, and the fur was disappearing... “Well, the female was driving me crazy. I couldn't take advantage of her. She's so innocent.”
Mother Nature nodded thoughtfully, studying the human male that now stood naked before her. “You are a good man, and you take care of yourself well.”
He glanced down at himself, realizing he was naked, then ran to the chair and donned the suit that Mother Nature had provided for him the night before. He could not bring himself to look towards the cage. The female was banging at the glass and squeaking at them.
“I need to give you a nicer reward.”
“Uh, that's okay. My class should be coming in soon, and...well, last night was reward enough.”
For a moment he considered returning the female to the pet store, because he honestly couldn't bear to confront her again, even in human form. But he had taken her on, and he was responsible for her. And Mother Nature would probably be insulted if he got rid of her...
Mother Nature had remained silent for these few seconds. “You're disappointed,” she uttered presently.
“No, it's okay–”
Suddenly she perked up with new understanding. “You're lonely, aren't you?”
He turned away, buttoning the smooth white shirt. It felt like it was made of real silk, which, being created by nature itself, it probably was.
“You have no mate.”
Josh looked away. There had been several women, but none that had worked out.
“I know just the mate for you.”
He raised one eyebrow. Mother Nature was a matchmaker now too? “You do?”
“Such a good woman, I've rewarded her repeatedly...she's a teacher too. Her name is Sally. You'll love her.”
Josh raised his eyebrows. “I bet,” he answered thoughtfully.