Miss Mousie's Blind Date Read online

  Text copyright © 2012 by Tim Beiser

  Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Rachel Berman

  Published in Canada by Tundra Books, a Division of Random House of Canada Limited, One Toronto Street, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2V6

  Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,

  P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2011938763

  All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher – or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency – is an infringement of the copyright law.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Beiser, Tim, 1959-

  Miss Mousie’s blind date / by Tim Beiser ; illustrated by

  Rachel Berman.

  For ages 3-6.

  eISBN: 978-1-77049-363-6

  1. Mice – Juvenile fiction. I. Berman, Rachel, 1947-

  II. Title.

  PS8603.E42846M58 2012 jC813’.6 C2011-906496-0

  We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.

  Medium: watercolor and gouache on rag

  Design: Erin Cooper

  v3.1

  For Morley, Daniel, and Rowan

  –– J.T.B.

  For Maurice Sendak

  –– R.B.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  First Page

  Spring is such a funny thing ––

  it wakes up all the plants

  And makes our furry woodland friends

  go cuckoo for romance.

  And so it was, one day in May,

  when stopping by the deli,

  Miss Mousie’s eye fell on a guy

  who turned her knees to jelly.

  Matt LaBatt, the water rat,

  was such a handsome fellow!

  His fur was black. His eyes were red.

  His teeth were lemon yellow.

  He caught her eye and nodded “hi.”

  She couldn’t speak or squeak.

  Miss Mousie’s paws began to shake.

  Her little legs went weak.

  The droll mole deli-owner gave the rat a Swiss on rye.

  And viewing Matthew chewing it, Miss Mousie thought she’d die.

  To catch the rat’s attention, Mousie headed for the door

  And coyly dropped a hankie from her pocket on the floor.

  Matt shook his head. “Hey, Mole,” he said,

  “Come fill my coffee cup.

  And tell that fat girl by the door

  to pick her hankie up.”

  Miss Mousie twitched her nose and froze.

  Can I believe my ears?

  That awful rat has called me fat!

  Her eyes filled up with tears.

  She scampered to her burrow, and she hid there for a day,

  Ashamed to go outside and hear what other folks might say.

  Her chubby, tubby body would just be a cause for laughter.

  She might as well decide to hide inside forever after.

  One morning, without warning, at her door came several knocks,

  And she found this invitation stuffed inside her letterbox:

  “We’ve never met (at least not yet),

  but, dear, tonight at eight,

  Would you agree to dine with me?

  I’ll be your mystery date.”

  My goodness me! Who could it be?

  And why this sense of mystery?

  Is he aware that I am fat,

  and, worse, my recent history?

  She squeaked, “Oh, no! I dare not go!”

  then raced to find a mirror.

  “One look at me, and he will flee.

  That much cannot be clearer.”

  “But in disguise? That might be wise!

  In fact, I think it’s best.”

  So to her storage hole she stole

  and searched her wooden chest.

  She found some bells and scallop shells,

  three tea towels made of cotton,

  A tablecloth, wings off a moth,

  and pearls she had forgotten.

  She took these things, and, with some strings,

  she made a gown so clever

  That just to guess who wore that dress

  would take some folks forever.

  And for her head, she found some thread

  and curtains made of lace,

  Then made a crown of snails and veils

  to cover up her face.

  Miss Mousie headed down the road

  inside that clever gown.

  From looks she got, folks must have thought

  the circus was in town.

  She was the cause of wild applause,

  loud shouts and cheers and whistles…

  Which lasted till she took a spill

  and landed in some thistles.

  The thistle thicket was so thick

  and tangled with sharp brambles

  That every thorn snagged what she’d worn

  and left her dress in shambles.

  Dead leaves upon her sleeves were stuck,

  and much to her dismay,

  As rain came down and soaked her gown,

  her big hat blew away.

  At 8:08, she reached the gate at Mystery Date’s address.

  Her first blind date –– and she was late!

  And looking like a mess!

  She sadly trudged up to the door and gave a fearful knock.

  To her surprise what met her eyes was something of a shock.

  Standing right before her was the mole who owned the deli!

  She recognized him by his eyes and by his tubby belly ––

  But he had whiskers like a rat!

  And hair black as a crow!

  With squint and grin, he showed her in

  and stepped upon her toe.

  With an air quite debonair,

  the mole first tried to seat her

  In funny spots, like flowerpots

  and on a carpet beater.

  All through his hole,

  the squinting mole could hardly find his way.

  As Mousie gawked, the poor guy walked

  smack into the buffet.

  With such a crash,

  his rat mustache was knocked in disarray.

  And placed upon his face with paste,

  it quickly dropped away.

  Finally, he quite blindly sat her down upon a bench.

  « Café au lait, oui-oui soufflé? »

  he cooed in nonsense French.

  Then to a chair with no one there,

  he said, “This might be daring,

  But I confess I love your dress

  and that sweet hat you’re wearing.”

  This nutty situation struck Miss Mousie as so funny

  That she slapped her thighs and giggled

  till her little eyes were runny.

  “You’re phony as boloney!”

  Mousie laughed. “I call a truce.

  No girl objects to men in specs.

  Please wear yours, silly goose!”

  “I played the same lame costume game.

  Let’s have a
nother try:

  I’m plain and fat –– and that is that!”

  The mole squeaked, “So am I!”

  He set his jaw, then took her paw and said on bended knee,

  “If you’ll be you, then I’ll be me.”

  Miss Mousie said, « Oui-oui. »

  The End.

 

 

  Tim Beiser, Miss Mousie's Blind Date

  Thanks for reading the books on GrayCity.Net