I lived in a very small apartment on the ground floor at the time. It wasn’t even a real apartment, it was actually a small office space. I had about 18 square meter to my disposal including a kitchenette and a lavatory. There was no shower. I had to wash at the sink, but was lucky to have a swimming pool in my neighbourhood. I also had a little garden.
For about six years I lived in my humble estate on the eastside of Haarlem and was pretty happy with it.
At one evening, while watching TV from my couch, which was also my bed, I suddenly saw a little mouse crawling from under the gas heater. After some hesitations he trip stepped alongside the wall right in front of me, got underneath my work desk and got around the plywood wall that separated my ‘living-room’ from the kitchenette/bathroom. On the other side of that wall he found mice heaven between the spilled crumbs on the floor.
It became a daily routine for him, and for me that was fun to watch. Now and then I blocked his way with a shoe or a book just to see him consulting himself on how to deal with this strange and new obstacle. The first time I did this it scared him so much that he literally jumped up and raced back to his hiding place under the heater.
Meanwhile I realized that my tailed little house friend could not stay here for ever. I enjoyed his company but feared the day that he would bring his entire family and his friends with him. I decided that I had to catch him and put him outside. Off course I made this decision on a Saturday night after all the shops had closed for the weekend. So I had to make my own mouse trap, and I did so with the cardboard box of my chessmen, a rook, a piece of string and some cookie crumbs.
I didn’t have to wait very long before my little friend showed up, with his nose sniffing in the air. The smell of crumbs was irresistible. One pull on the string and he was trapped under the lid.
But now what? Ho did I get him from there? I realized that my plan had failed. I let him go.
A few days later I bought a mouse trap – a humane one! – I filled it with the most delicious mix of crumbs I could think of. But he didn’t bother. From now on he would only have crumbs that had no roof!
Weeks went by. My little mouse didn’t bring any friends or relatives and I let him. Until one night I woke up from a strange noise that came from under the kitchen sink.
I got up and soon found out that my little friend had gotten into the cupboard and had himself trapped in the space between the backside of the cupboard and the wall behind. He must have fallen in there through one of the pipe holes. There was no way he would get out of there by himself and he would surely die a horrifying death if I didn’t do something. But what?
I had to make a hole in the backside at the bottom of the cupboard. So I got a torchlight, a screwdriver and a hammer and I got in.
After a few bangs I had made a little hole. When I pulled back the screwdriver to have a better look, immediately my little friend stuck his nose through the hole and started to gnaw his way out. From that moment on – I know this sounds very Disney-like, but it really happened – he and I worked together making the gap big enough for him to get out.
When the hole was almost big enough, I decided he was to finish the job on his own. I very cleverly put the humane mousetrap in front of the opening and went back to bed.
The next morning I heard some clattering noises coming from the kitchen. I got up, opened the cupboard door and saw that my friend had gotten out, but also had managed to get passed the trap.
But he was exhausted! The little fellow had fought for his live all night long and could hardly stand on his tiny feet anymore. He didn’t even have the strength to get away when I reached out my hand to grab him. And there I held him… Until he bit me in the finger and would not let go! Ouch!!
Now there was a dilemma. What do you do when a mouse is biting your finger and you don’t really want to hurt him? I didn’t want to squeeze him to death… I don’t know how it got into to me, but I decided to bite him back. I bit him in his neck.
(This is usually the part where the lovely girl that till now has been listening to my story with a melting heart suddenly looks at me with great disgust).
It worked. He let go of my finger and I put him in the trap, where he stayed until I was sure he was recovered enough to take care of himelf again.
That night I took him outside and set him free.
So let that be a lesson: You CAN catch a mouse in a friendly way!
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