It had been raining for several days and the little field mice were getting bored. They could not find anything exciting to do. It was especially hard for Sed and Ned who loved to play together out in the meadow. Of course, they were always on the alert for the big black cat. But with the rain, they didn't have to worry about him. The rain stopped enough for the two little brothers to go out and play. They remembered to put on their rain gear. The last words of their mother was, "NOT to PLAY in the storm drains, because they could be very dangerous after rain.
The two little mice were so happy to be outside again. But it wasn't long before it started to rain again. As it started to come down harder and harder, Sed and Ned forget what their mother told them and ran for cover in a storm drain. Suddenly, a huge rush of water picked up the two little mice, tossing and banging their little bodies from side to side. Finally, they they were able to grab hold of a piece of tile floating by. They both were able to crawl up onto the tile and float the rest of the way out of the drain,
Waiting for them at the end of the drain was a pack of SEWER RATS! After a storm , it was always a good place for sewer rats to wait to see if they could capture some mice as slaves. Sed and Ned great grand father had been enslaved for many years, until his father made a heroic attempt and rescued him. At first the rats didn't see the boys hiding in the bushes.
The mice were shaking so hard with fear. They thought for sure they would be captured and become rat slaves.
"Sed, we have got to do something quickly, brother, or we will be captured and slaves for life!" cried Ned.
"What do you think we should do? You are the oldest." said Sed confidently
"We'll, have to move fast. When I say run, we will ran as fast as we can to our hideout in the old oak tree. If we can get there, the rats will not be able to fit through the hole and we can wait for help".
"That sounds great Ned, but what if we don't make it? ?"
"We have got to make it Sed. Just be ready to run......NOW!"
Just as soon as Ned said NOW, the two mice ran out from under the bush and headed for their hideout. The sewer rats saw Sed and Ned running across the meadow and hurried into their hideout. The rats caught up and started to surround the tree. The boys were so exhausted and out of breath.
"Phew! Ned, we made it! That was a wild run. I don't want to run like that again, but what are we going to do now brother? "
" I don't know, but we will think of something " We better wait here until morning to make sure all the rats have left."
Meanwhile, it was getting dark and their parents were very concerned. They decided to call Murky the mole to see if he knew anything about the boys. Fortunately, just that afternoon, Sed and Ned had asked him to make a separate hole out of their hideout in case of emergency. Murky wasn't able to finish to hole that day, so he told their parents that he would take a run out to the hideout and see if they were there.
Murky didn't have any problem getting to the old oak tree. Most of the hole was already dug. All he had to do was to connect it to the hideout. Inside the hideout Sed and Ned were getting tired and started to fall asleep.
"Ned, anxiously asked Sed, "Do you hear that noise? I hope it isn't the rats?"
"Sed, don't worry about the rats. They don't know how to dig." exclaimed Ned .Suddenly The boys saw dirt separating under their feet.
"It's Murky, he has come to rescue us!" The two little mice excitedly exclaimed as they started to dance around the room.. Up popped Murky's head. "Hi fellers. Are you all right?
The boys explained to Murky their afternoon ordeal and didn't waste any time escaping through the tunnel.
The sewer rats never knew what happened to the mice. They gave up waiting for them to come out and went home. Sed and Ned were happy to be safely back home, but they had a lot of explaining to do with their parents. For the next week, they were not allowed to play in their hideout, until they learned to listen and obey. Murky was the hero and from that day on, there was a permanent escape from their hideout, across the meadow into their back yard.
It was late in the afternoon and Jennifer's mother was getting ready to bake some cookies for the evening meal. Jennifer loved to help her mother, even though she always made a big mess. Her mother didn't mind as along she helped clean it up. Pulling a chair over beside her mother, Jennifer climbed up with her wooden spoon ready to mix the batter. Her mother was always happy to have Jennifer's company, mess and all.
Mint chocolate chip cookies were on the menu. Jennifer's job was to stir the cookie dough and to put the chips in the dough. But somehow, her little fingers had a hard time staying out of the cookie dough.
"Jennifer", her mother said.' get your fingers out of the cookie dough. You have germs on them. Now go to the bathroom and wash your hands. You know that all good cooks always wash their hands before they cook and keep their fingers out of the food," explained mother.
Jennifer really did know better but cookie dough with mint chocolate chips with just too much of a temptation. When she returned from washing her hands, she helped her mother put the drops of dough on the cookie tray ready for the oven . She couldn't wait for them to finish baking. Her mother told her that she was not to eat any before dinner , because it would ruin her appetite. Jennifer didn't understand why one cookie would spoil her dinner. It didn't make any sense to her.
When the cookies came out of oven, they were put on a rack to cool. The aroma was too much of a temptation for Jennifer. As soon as her mother left to go out into the garden to gather some veggies for a salad for dinner, Jennifer could not resist another minute. She climbed up unto the counter and wrapped two cookies in a napkin. She then jumped down and ran off upstairs into her room. She put one cookie under her pillow and ate the other hiding in her closet.
But after she ate the cookie, she didn't feel very good and it wasn't her stomach! Something was wrong. Somehow that cookie didn't taste very good.
When Jennifer's mother came in from the garden, she noticed that two cookies were missing from the rack. "Oh no,' thought mother.'I hope Jennifer didn't take two cookies when I told her to wait?" Her mother's heart was broken. Her little girl had disobeyed. The last thing she wanted to do was to discipline her, but she knew she had no choice.
No sooner had she had that thought, when Jennifer came down stairs with a cookie wrapped up in a napkin. "Mommy,' said Jennifer handing her the wrapped up cookie. "I don't feel so good. I took two cookies, ate one and hid the other under my pillow. I need to put this one back."
Mommy took the cookie from Jennifer and said, "Jennifer, I was very disappointed when I saw that two cookies were missing after I told you not to to eat any before dinner."
"I know mommy, I disobeyed you and I stole two cookies, but I am so sorry. As soon as I ate the cookie, I knew something was wrong.
I didn't feel right. I keep hearing a voice in my head saying, 'eat the cookies, your mother will never know'. But, I knew that it was the devil tempting me. I remembered what you told me, "When you know what is the right thing to do and you don't do it, it is sin and you will not feel good.' I felt awful mommy and even the cookie didn't taste good. Will you please forgive me?"
"Jennifer, you did the right thing. God gave us a conscience to help us to do what is right. I am very happy that you listened to your conscience and said no to the devil. Stealing is wrong and you will never feel good when you steal or when you disobey your parents. It is God's way to keep you safe in a world that is so full of evil."
Mommy and Jennifer hugged. It felt so good to be forgiven. Because Jennifer had confessed to her mother her sin, her mother chose to show her God's grace and did not discipline her that night. Jennifer learned the importance of telling the truth . From that day on, she had learned how important it was to listen to her conscience and do what was right.
