The Mouse House Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1: A Friday Surprise

  Chapter 2: The Shopping Trip

  Chapter 3: Think Sparkly Thoughts

  Chapter 4: The Mystery Gift

  Chapter 5: The Squirrel House

  Chapter 6: Sophie On Edge

  Chapter 7: Creative Sparks

  Chapter 8: Think Small

  Chapter 9: Squirrel Housewarming

  ‘Journey to the Crystal Cave’ Excerpt

  About the Author and Illustrator

  A Friday Surprise

  Sophie Mouse’s pencil flew across her math paper. She raced to answer the bottom row of subtraction problems.

  It was Friday afternoon. The whole class was taking their timed math quiz. They had to answer as many problems as they could in just five minutes.

  Sophie had to work fast. But not too fast, or she’d make mistakes.

  With three problems to go, the tip of Sophie’s pencil broke.

  “No!” Sophie cried out. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth. There was no talking during tests.

  Hattie Frog came to the rescue. From the desk next to Sophie, Hattie held out a freshly sharpened pencil. Sophie beamed at her friend.

  Thank you! she mouthed noiselessly. Hattie smiled and nodded in reply. Sophie hurried to finish the last three problems.

  One done!

  Two done!

  Mrs. Wise stood up at her desk. Sophie scribbled the last answer just as the teacher said, “Pencils down, please. Time is up.”

  Sophie sat back in her seat with a sigh. At least she had finished. But Sophie wasn’t sure she’d gotten them all right.

  Not the best way to end the week, she thought.

  As Mrs. Wise collected the papers, there was a knock at the schoolhouse door.

  “Ah-ha,” Mrs. Wise said knowingly. She started toward the door. “Remember, class? I said we’d have a surprise this afternoon.”

  A murmur of eager anticipation filled the room. All eyes turned toward the door.

  Who was there?

  Mrs. Wise flung the door open wide. Standing there was a well-dressed squirrel. Sophie blinked. It was Ellie’s father. And he was holding a big tray of cupcakes!

  “Happy birthday, Ellie!” Mr. Squirrel called out to his daughter.

  Ellie jumped up from her desk. She hurried over to her dad and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for bringing them in, Dad!” Ellie said. Then she turned to the class. “Surprise, everybody! Mrs. Wise said I could bring in a birthday treat!”

  Sophie and the other students cheered.

  Ellie’s dad started passing out the cupcakes. Sophie sniffed at hers. Yum! Cinnamon hazelnut!

  Ellie walked around too, placing a card on each student’s desk.

  Sophie glanced down. It was an invitation!

  “Sunday is my actual birthday,” Ellie explained. “I hope all of you can come to my party.”

  Sophie wiggled happily in her seat.

  Forget the math quiz, she told herself. It’s party time!

  The Shopping Trip

  The next morning Sophie gobbled down her breakfast.

  She loved her dad’s special Saturday morning waffles. But she loved birthday parties even more. And after breakfast, Sophie and Winston were going to walk into town to shop for Ellie’s present.

  “Ready, Winston?” Sophie asked impatiently. She couldn’t help it!

  Sophie grabbed Winston by the hand and led him toward the front door. Winston hopped along on one foot, still pulling on his shoe.

  On their way down the path to town, Sophie and Winston made their shopping plan.

  “I’d like to look in the Little Leaf Bookstore and the General Store,” Sophie said.

  Winston nodded. “Can we look in Handy’s Hardware too?” he asked.

  Sophie smiled and agreed. It didn’t seem like the place to find a gift for Ellie. But Winston loved poking around in there.

  The bell on the door jingled as the mice stepped into the bookstore. Winston hurried off to the easy-to-read shelf. Sophie browsed the new arrivals for young readers.

  There were a few that looked great to her, including a how-to on pressing wildflowers and a new graphic novel with a mouse heroine.

  But Sophie soon realized she didn’t know what kinds of books Ellie liked best. Or what she already had.

  Winston wound up buying a book of mazes for himself. Then Sophie and Winston headed off to the General Store.

  There were lots of choices here: soaps, candy, socks, and playing cards. There was even a small toy section. Sophie searched the shelves. Would Ellie like a yo-yo? A rubber stamp kit? A new jump rope?

  Winston decided to get Ellie a shadow puppet kit that came with a pocket flashlight.

  But nothing jumped out at Sophie.

  They moved on to Handy’s Hardware. Sophie was feeling discouraged. They’d already been to the two shops where they were most likely to find a gift. Sophie followed Winston up and down the aisles. He looked at shiny tools and peeked in drawers filled with nails. But Sophie’s mind was already on where they could go next. Where else could she find something for Ellie?

  Sophie came to the end of an aisle, stopped, and stared.

  There, on a display table, was the most beautiful miniature house Sophie had ever seen!

  The walls were made of wood. The roof shingles were squares of bark. The house stood propped open like a book. Sophie peeked inside.

  The lower level was divided into two large rooms and a center hallway. The upper level had three bedrooms, each with different types of wallpaper. A wooden ladder connected the two floors.

  The rooms were empty. But right away, Sophie’s imagination started filling them with tiny tables, chairs, sofas, and rugs.

  A sign on the table read:

  It also included a sticker with the price. Whoa! The house was way too expensive a gift for Sophie to buy for Ellie.

  But the thing was . . . Sophie didn’t want to give it to Ellie.

  Sophie wanted the house for herself.

  Think Sparkly Thoughts

  Sophie didn’t find a gift for Ellie in town. But she did find inspiration. Mr. Handy’s handcrafted miniature house had reminded her of something: Handmade things are special.

  Instead of buying a gift, Sophie was going to paint one.

  Back at home, she went upstairs to her room. She looked over her painting supplies. Sophie had a bunch of standard colors. But a birthday painting called for special birthday paint.

  Sophie wanted something eye-catching. Something festive. Something . . . glittery!

  So that afternoon, Sophie was on a mission. She had once seen shimmery rocks down by the stream. Maybe she could scrape off some flecks and grind them into a powder. Then she could add it to different colors to make glitter paint.

  Sophie stopped by Hattie’s house and asked if she wanted to help.

  “Sure!” Hattie exclaimed. “I think I know where we can look.”

  The two friends headed upstream. As Hattie led the way, they talked about Ellie’s party. Hattie had her gift all wrapped and ready. “I remembered she likes to knit,” Hattie said. “So I got her some colorful yarn.”

  “Great idea!” Sophie replied.

  She told Hattie about her shopping trip that morning. “I didn’t find anything for Ellie,” Sophie said. “But I did see something amazing that I want to get someday.” She described the house Mr. Handy had made. “It’s like a miniature mouse house!”

  Hattie frowned. “Couldn’t it be a miniature frog house?” she asked.

  Sophie shrugged. “I guess.”

  They passed some tall reeds. Sophie picked one, then tore it into smaller pieces. She bundled the pieces together to form a tiny brush.

  She showed it to H
attie. “Look!” Sophie said. “A little broom for the mouse house!”

  Hattie laughed.

  They walked a little farther. Sophie pointed out a teeny-tiny mushroom growing in some moss. “That could be a footstool in the mouse house!” she cried. “What do you think?”

  Hattie laughed. “I think you really, really want that mouse house!” she said.

  Sophie laughed too. “Yeah,” she admitted.

  Hattie led Sophie to a spot where some rocks were half-buried in sand in the shallow water.

  “Here!” Hattie said. She scooped up a handful of pebbles and rinsed them in the water. She held her hand out for Sophie to see.

  The rocks sparkled in the sunlight.

  “Wow!” Sophie exclaimed. “These are great!”

  She picked out the most sparkly ones she could find. Then she took them home to grind them down. They were going to be perfect for making a glittery birthday painting for Ellie.

  The Mystery Gift

  The next day, at the party, Sophie and Winston ran to greet Ellie. “Happy birthday!” they cried, and handed her their gifts.

  Winston had put his in a striped gift bag. Sophie had rolled hers into a scroll, wrapped it in fabric, and tied it with a ribbon.

  “Thank you so much!” Ellie exclaimed, placing the items on a table.

  As she did, one of the other gifts caught Sophie’s eye. It was a very large box wrapped in fancy paper. On top was a big red bow.

  Who had gotten Ellie such a big present? And what was inside?

  Sophie felt a pang of doubt. Was her painting a good enough gift? She was proud of the way it had turned out. She just hoped Ellie would like it too.

  It’s the thought that counts, Sophie reminded herself. Isn’t it? Besides, the other gifts on the table looked about the same size as hers and Winston’s.

  Sophie shook it off as the party got started. Ellie and her parents had created an acorn hunt. They had buried acorns all around their family’s tree house.

  “If you dig up an acorn with a gold-painted cap, you win a prize,” Ellie explained.

  Sophie and Winston did well. After all, mice have very good senses of smell. Sophie found three acorns and Winston found two—one with a gold cap!

  Afterward, they played rounds of freeze tag, leapfrog, and red light, green light.

  All that running around made everyone hungry. Soon they were ready for Ellie’s chocolate-nut birthday cake.

  Her mom and dad lit the candles on top. Ellie closed her eyes, made a wish, and blew them out—all in one breath!

  “Hooray!” everyone cheered.

  Finally, it was time for Ellie to open her gifts.

  She opened Willy’s first. It was a set of colored pencils in a pretty tin that included erasers in many different shapes.

  “I saw that your school pencils are all pretty short,” Willy explained. “I thought you could use some new ones.”

  “I could!” Ellie agreed. “Thanks, Willy!”

  Ben and James had gotten her one gift from both of them. “A puzzle!” Ellie cried as she opened the box. “Oooh, this looks hard—but in a good way!”

  Ellie also seemed to love the yarn Hattie had picked out. Hattie’s sister, Lydie, went along with the theme and gave Ellie a new set of knitting needles.

  Ellie laughed at Piper’s gift: a tote bag with a smiling acorn that said I’M A NUT!

  Next was a chess set from Owen, a polka-dot umbrella from Zoe, a card game from Malcolm, and then the shadow puppet kit from Winston. Ellie beamed with delight as she opened each one.

  Sophie watched as Ellie reached for her present next. Ellie unwrapped the fabric, unfurled the painting, and gasped. “Sophie! Did you paint this?”

  Sophie nodded.

  “It’s beautiful!” Ellie exclaimed. “Look!” She held the painting up so everyone could see. “How did you get it to shine like this?”

  Sophie smiled proudly and then explained how she’d made the paint. Ellie looked very impressed. She really seemed to like it. Sophie felt so happy. And relieved!

  Now there was only one gift left—the big one. Ellie’s mom picked it up and put it in front of Ellie. “This one is from your dad and me,” said Mrs. Squirrel.

  Aha! thought Sophie. That made sense.

  Ellie peeled off a strip of paper. Now one corner of the gift was poking out. “What in the world?” Ellie said, confused by what she saw.

  But to Sophie, the squares of bark looked strangely familiar.

  She gasped. She knew that roof!

  She knew it because it was the roof of the mouse house!

  The Squirrel House

  Ellie unwrapped the rest of the gift. All the party guests crowded around Ellie to get a good look at the miniature house.

  “Oh my gosh!” Ellie exclaimed. “Mom and Dad! I love it!” She jumped up and gave them a big hug. “Thank you so much!”

  “It’s so detailed!” Zoe said, peeking inside the house. “Look at the wallpapers!”

  “The window shutters open and close!” Owen said.

  “Aw, it even comes with a little squirrel family,” Lydie pointed out.

  Sophie craned her neck to see. Sure enough, there in the downstairs hallway was a set of miniature squirrel dolls.

  Next to Sophie, James leaned toward Winston. “Have you ever seen anything like that?” James asked him.

  Winston nodded. “Yeah!” he blurted out. “We saw it in Handy’s Hardware!” He turned to look at Sophie. “Didn’t we?”

  Sophie forced a smile and nodded.

  “Isn’t Mr. Handy talented?” asked Mr. Squirrel. “It’s all handcrafted!”

  “Yes,” Sophie said, “it’s truly one-of-a-kind.” And now it belongs to Ellie, she thought.

  Sophie tried very hard to hide her disappointment. She knew she was being silly. How had she gotten so attached to that house—in only one day?

  Sophie sighed, put on a smile, and reached for a squirrel doll. “Can I be the little sister?” she asked Ellie.

  Sophie figured if she couldn’t own the house, at least she should take this chance to play with it.

  Ellie nodded. “Of course!”

  Back at home, Mrs. Mouse greeted Sophie and Winston. “How was the party?” she asked.

  Sophie shrugged. “It was okay, I guess,” she replied glumly. She flopped onto the sofa.

  “Okay?” Winston cried in disbelief. “It was so fun! We played tons of games. Ellie’s cake was yummy. And I won this!” He held up the wooden car he got as a prize for the acorn hunt.

  Winston drove it on the kitchen counter and up the stairs. Sophie heard him drive it down the hall to his room.

  Mrs. Mouse came over and sat next to Sophie. “Did you and Winston go to the same party?” she asked with a smile.

  Sophie shrugged and looked down. Feeling a little embarrassed, she told her mom about the mouse house—how she’d seen it the day before, and how Ellie’s parents had bought it for Ellie.

  “The party was fun,” Sophie admitted. “I was just kind of . . . jealous, I guess.”

  It felt good to get her feelings out.

  And Sophie’s mom said just what Sophie needed. Nothing. Mrs. Mouse simply listened. Then she wrapped Sophie in a big, warm hug.

  Sophie on Edge

  Sophie got her math quiz back on Monday morning. Mrs. Wise had made four big red circles around the problems Sophie had gotten wrong.

  Sophie tugged at her whiskers as she looked it over. She had made some silly mistakes. On one problem, she added instead of subtracting. And her answers to the last three problems—the ones she had rushed through—were all wrong.

  At lunchtime, Sophie went to get her lunch from her cubby. Owen hurried over with his quiz paper.

  “I got a hundred!” Owen said excitedly. “How did you do?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said grumpily.

  Sophie dug around in her cubby. “Oh no,” she moaned. “I left my lunch at home.”

  Hatt
ie overheard Sophie. “You can have half of my sandwich,” she told Sophie.

  Sophie managed a smile. “Thanks, Hattie.” It was nice of her. But Sophie had made herself a good sandwich that morning: apple slices, honey, and peanut butter on a cranberry scone. It bugged her to imagine it sitting at home.

  “Okay, class,” Mrs. Wise said after lunch. “Let’s go over our new spelling words before we head outside for recess.”

  The students made their way to their desks. As Sophie sat down, Ellie waved at her from across the room. Ellie said something. But Sophie couldn’t hear her.

  What? Sophie mouthed back with a shrug.

  It was time to stop talking. The room had quieted down. Mrs. Wise had her back to the class and was writing words on the chalkboard.

  Sophie saw Ellie take out a piece of paper. Ellie scribbled something on it and folded it up into a small square.

  Ellie passed it to Piper at the desk next to her. Piper passed it to Owen. Owen passed it behind him to Hattie. Hattie passed it to Sophie.

  Sophie unfolded the note and read:

  You’re such a great artist, Sophie! Thanks for the painting!

  Sophie looked up. She smiled at Ellie. Then she picked up her pencil. Under Ellie’s words, Sophie wrote back:

  Sophie folded the note back up. “Pssst, Hattie!” she said, holding it out.