The tiny, tiny, tiniest of hope came in the form of a milking mouse. In a suburb outside the city that had been forgotten about long ago, at the end of the cul-de-sac was a house and at the end of a path around the house was a shed. The shed is where this tale starts.
Image by Kristoffer Johnson
In that shed was an old wire cage. This is where the heroine lived. She is not what one would expect, small in stature, all grey and institutionally maternal to another species, human. Little did the Scientist know that when the sun began to set, the Milking Mouse would open the squeaky door of the old wire cage and hop out to start her work.
Image by Kristoffer Johnson
As soon as it was dark and the scientist left for the night, the Milking Mouse was able to slip through her cage. She glanced back over her shoulder to get one final glimpse of the clock as she headed out onto the sidewalk along the shed.
Image by Kristoffer Johnson
As she ran along the sidewalk she took note of the time and wondered when the day would come when she was not tied to the hands of the clock.
Image by Kristoffer Johnson
The Milking Mouse knew that if the Scientist were to find the cage empty, the cracks that she slipped through would be fixed. So, the Milking Mouse struck up a deal with her neighbor, Shed Mouse, who lived in the walls. In return for the Shed Mouse pretending to play the role as Milking Mouse. Milking Mouse shared her daily food ration.
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Every night at the same time she continued her routine, and she felt true freedom. By the end of the night, with her good deeds done, her heart was full. But as the nights of her adventures passed, her heart began to sink a little more with each run along the path back to the shed, through the gap in the wire cage.
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“More, more, more”, shouted the Politician to the gaggle and bevy. He stood at the podium that was high above the rest, with empty baby bottles behind him and milk dripping from his beak. The gaggles quacked back loudly and dispersed to find more.
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Now the Politician was as rotten as they come, stealing milk from babies, all for personal gain, so that he could become even more handsome with fine feathers and golden colored hair.
Image by Kristoffer Johnson