The adventures of the tiny spring-loaded mouse

Last weekend I was in this clothing store in Little 5 with a friend. As we were trying on over-priced and undersized trendy clothes, my friend spotted this little mouse running along the baseboard. We alerted the girl who was running the store, and she was glad the mouse had come back -- apparently she knew him and had been trying to catch him over the past few weeks. It was only the 3 of us in the store, and I thought it kind of funny that none of us were scared in the least, we thought he was so cute! (Any of you who know me in lab know my love for sweet lab animals, and it transferred over.) The store-keeper woman promptly went to get a pair of gloves and a lightbulb box, as my friend and I tried to corner the mouse.

It was then, as I got closer, that I realized that this was perhaps the smallest mouse in the history of the world (see figure 1). I'm not sure if it was just a baby, or the rodent equivalent of a midget, but I've seen roaches that were bigger than this mouse. But MAN could this guy run! Anyway, after about 5 minutes of running all over the store, we finally trapped him on the steps and got him in the box. It reminded me of the many times a rat or mouse would get loose in the animal room and people would be running all over like idiots trying to catch it... Anyway, when we finished shopping, my friend and I offered to take him across the street and deliver him behind the Brewhouse (lots of great scraps in the dumpsters there = mouse heaven). As we walked out the door, I thought I should take a picture of this mouse cause he was so small and adorable, and I was developing a fondness for him. So I opened the box and snapped this shot with my phone, just milliseconds before he catapulted straight up, soared 6 feet through the air, landed in a puddle and scurried off into a vintage clothing store!

We tried to chase him and catch him in there for a while, but he quickly disappeared among the mothball-scented overcoats. I can only hope the little guy is living happily in his new home, and that the shop-owners there are as nice as the girl in the first store. Bonne chance, little guy!

NOTE: This will only make sense to a few, but the way this mouse just suddenly flew out of the box reminded me of this shot of my friend's son -- spontaneously launching out of his chair. (Note the flying sippie cup.)