Chapter 7

Was this human setting him free? He was very confused, but tried to keep hold of his senses. He sniffed the air again and looked around. This room was small, but comfortable. Finally Mickey started to explore. He looked at every nook and cranny to gain some type of insight as to what this human world was all about.

The door opened once again and Mickey ran behind a chair. The man came back. What was going to happen now?

"Hey mousie, where are you?" said Walt in a somewhat playful voice. Mickey peeked around the chair and saw the man staring back at him. He had a tin pan in his hand, the hand which also had a rag bandage around it.

Walt crouched down so he could be on Mickey's level. He spoke in a very soft and quiet voice. "I brought you some food because I know you must be starving. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on," he coaxed.

He put the tin on the floor and stepped back a little. The food smelled so good to Mickey. His stomach needed some type of nourishment. Walt left the room again, closing the door.

Mickey sniffed the air and slowly emerged from his hiding place. He saw the food and went toward it. It consisted of some raw vegetables and peanuts. Mickey didn't realize how hungry he really was and finished the food very quickly. Now that his stomach was full, he started exploring again.

"What kind of place is this? The humans must come in here a lot ," Mickey wondered as he continued taking in his surroundings. He felt a slight breeze tickle his ears and he sniffed the air again. Looking up, he saw an open window. Freedom! He climbed upon the table to get closer. On the table, he saw sheets of paper. Of course Mickey never saw paper before, and unknowingly put his dirty footprints all over it. He stuck his head out the window and saw the barns and the fields from where he was. Mickey leaned further out the window and decided to leave to make his way back to the henhouse and the nest.

Mickey used his innate mouse skills to quickly scamper undetected back to the farm area. As soon as the cows and pigs saw him, they started making noises. Mickey looked at them, but didn't stop to speak. He saw the familiar henhouse and quickly ran inside. He stopped short when he saw the familiar box. Mickey stared and stared at what seemed like eons ago when he and his mother shared the nest together. Tears gathered in his eyes and his thoughts flew back to the moment he decided to disobey is mother and to follow that tractor out into the field.

"Mickey, Mickey, Mickey Mouse?"

Mickey knew that familiar cluck anywhere. He slowly turned and saw Clara standing behind him. It was hard to look at her for some reason, but he managed a shy glance and turned to go into the nesting box.

There it was…empty….no matter how he tried to imagine her there, she will never be back again. The nest was still there and Mickey climbed into it, curled into a ball and cried. "Why do I have to be so…so…disobedient? I only think of having fun all the time, never about what is right or wrong," Mickey lamented.

Mickey's cries were interrupted by clucking again, but it wasn't Clara's. A rooster poked his head into the box. Mickey looked at the rooster who was eyeing him suspiciously. Mickey started to feel uneasy being there. He slowly lifted himself from the nest and made his way back toward the entrance.

Once out, he saw Clara, the farm dog, some geese and other chickens. Clara approached Mickey but not like she used to. She seemed not to be in a playful mood like she used to be either.

"Mickey, Mickey….why did you come back?," asked Clara. "How could you, how could you?" She still loved Mickey as much as she loved Michi and it secretly broke her heart to have to see him and treat him like this. Clara lowered her head and walked out of the henhouse.

Mickey was confused. "I….I…wanted to come back here….to…..," he stammered.

"To ease your guilt?" shouted the rooster. "It is YOUR FAULT that your sweet and loving mother is dead….killed by the farmer's tractor. Your mother tried to teach you the ways of humans, to keep you safe, and you disobeyed her one time too many. Now we learn that the humans took you inside their house! Is that true?"

Mickey was shocked at what the rooster was saying to him. "I….yes, I-I-I was in the house with the humans, one of them even saved my life! They left a window open for me to leave if I wanted to, and I came back here!"

"For what? To lead some of the other young ones here at the farm to be disobedient like you? We will not tolerate that!" growled the farm dog. "I AM the only one besides the cat and horses who is to be with the humans, not vermin like you! How DARE you try to take MY place in the house with them? You should have died that same night along with your mother!"

"NO! I didn't mean for my mother to die!" Mickey shouted back. "I didn't mean…."

Before he could finish his sentence, the dog grabbed Mickey in its jaws. The dog fiercely began shaking the mouse back and forth like a rag doll. He let Mickey go and his body was flung against the wall. Mickey kept his eyes closed as he grimaced in pain. He could hear other loud noises, and then he felt chicken claws and beaks tearing at his flesh; especially around his face.

"OH NO! They are… trying to….?" Mickey thought. He tried to open his eyes, and saw the dog coming at him again.

He sensed that the dog was trying to get to his stomach area. His instincts told him that the dog wanted to kill him by attacking the most vulnerable part of his body.

"NO! This is not the end! Not the END!" Mickey's thoughts flew wildly in his mind as he struggled to get to his feet. He opened his eyes wide and faced the dog. With all the might he could muster, he clamped his teeth onto the dog's muzzle. The dog let out a yelp and tried to get Mickey to let go. While he gripped the dog in a death lock, Mickey tasted the dog's blood and could still feel his own flesh being clawed and attacked by the chickens and geese.

The dog made a powerful swing with his neck and Mickey released his grip. Mickey felt his body being airborne once again, but this time landing on the ground outside the henhouse. He opened his eyes but he wasn't able to see much of anything. Everything was growing fuzzy. He thought he heard the human's voice and his footsteps coming closer.

Then….there was a deep silence….