Somewhere in the creeks and cracks of farmer Brown's farmhouse three little mice were born. The first was Ted, the second was Fred, and the third was Millie, the only girl. Mrs. Mouse was delighted to have these three beautiful mice, she always wanted children and knew that some day she would have three wonderful mice that she could be proud of and love with all of her heart. She knew that these mice would achieve great things, but she had her fears.

There was one great fear, a fear common to all mice, fear of the cat. Mr. Mouse assured his wife that he would protect his family from this menace, but she had her doubts. After all, what can mice really do to defend themselves against a cat but run? And run they did! It has been said, All we have to fear is fear itself. In many cases this is true, but for these mice, the only thing that kept them alive was fear. It was their only defense mechanism; it kept them alert and ready at any time to flee their one great nemesis, the cat. The cat kept them on their toes; they always had to be alert and aware, which gave their lives purpose and meaning. Mrs. Mouse knew that her babies were special. They would bring new meaning to the humdrum lives of mice.

This cat had a name but to the mice he would be just the cat, a beast that chased them, keeping them in a constant state of alarm. He was particularly fond of milk, white, luscious, milk. Mrs. Brown would give him a saucer of milk everyday, which encouraged him to be very good at his job, which was to chase mice.

Mr. and Mrs. Mouse were admiring their children, snuggling together and telling each other what great and wonderful mice they would become, when they heard this loud deep grunting sound in a deep bellowing tone. It was a fourth little mouse. He was small and shriveled. His ears bulged out stiff and sharp, they kind of looked like horns. His small mouse feet were as hard as stone, they could have been mistaken for hooves. Mr. and Mrs. Mouse were overjoyed to realize that they had been blessed with another baby mouse, they named him Michael. The loud bellowing sound became louder and louder. It sounded strangely like the sound that a cow would make, "Moo! moo!, moo!". In time he became known as little Mikey Moo Moo.

Each of these baby mice had their own dreams and aspirations. Ted was a journalist. On the farm, all news and rumor was spread by word of mouse. Ted would wonder around the farm talking to everyone to discover and spread all the news. Fred was an inventor. He was always thinking up new inventive ideas and ways of doing things. He engineered and constructed many mouse holes though out the house, so that all mice would have an easy way to escape the cat. He was the famous mouse who invented the idea of putting a bell on the cat's tail, so that all mice would be warned of the cat's approach. Unfortunately, history tells us that this did not work, since no mouse could be found who had enough courage to actually put the bell on the cat's tail. Millie dreamed of becoming a great dancer. She aspired to all types of dancing and artistic expression. She would move gracefully to all types of music that flowed though her mind, rock and roll, jazz and classic ballet.

Mikey had only one burning desire and that was to be a cow. Not only did he want to become a cow, but, as time went by, he became convinced that he was a cow. He had visions of spending long lazy afternoons on green sunny fields grazing on grass. As he slept his dreams flowed in the realms of all bovine beings. Spontaneously, as air passed through his lungs, his vocal cords resonated a loud mooing sound, moooooo, mooooo, mooooo? This sound resonated though out all the creeks and cracks in the walls of the farmhouse, vibrating the walls in a mystic rhythm, creating strange vibrations. Every one perceived and reacted to this sound differently. Mr. and Mrs. Brown never notice this sound, but these vibrations brought them joy. Mr. and Mrs. Mouse were undisturbed by this strange mooing sound. Mikey's bothers and sister only heard a harsh, braising noise. It would wake them up in the middle of the night. They would cry, "Mikey, shut up!"

"Where are your manors", Mrs. Mouse would say, "You know that it is not nice to use such rude language. Go back to bed,"

The most startling reaction to this moo was the strange effect it had on the cat. This sound put him into a deep trance. He had very vivid dreams of drinking the most delicious milk, which made the cat very happy and content. Moo, moo, moo, the deep rich sound reverberated though the cat's head.

As time passed, Mikey radically changed life though out the entire farm. The mooing went on night after night, affecting everyone's sleep, causing the three other mice and the cat to behave very strangely. Ted would wake up early walking among the many animals on the farm spreading news and rumor. There was a general feeling of fear spreading though out the farm. Life had settled into a certain routine for many years. Everything had changed radically. There were rumors that Mr. Brown was going to sell the farm and it would be turned into to a garbage dump. All signs were clear; farmer Brown was going bankrupt and the sky was going to fall. Ted would tell the chickens all types gossip and the chickens babbled, "Chickity cluck, chickity cluck", they would chatter and squawk.

Fred was becoming more and more imaginative and inventive in his ideas and theories. He was designing robot mice for the cat to chase, acting as decoys. He was studying flight. It was said, "If mice were meant to fly, the creator would have given them wings." Fred was doing exactly that; he was designing wings for mice made out of paper. He envisioned mice flying every where easily escaping the cat.

This mooing sound made Millie more enthusiastic in her dancing. She was proficient in all types of dance. "Tappity tap, tap, tap", she would tap dance all over the farm every morning. In the afternoons, she was inspired to modern movements of jazz like expression. Every evening, she would perform the most beautiful and graceful ballet all over the farm.

All this artistic and expressive activity was enabled by the strange behavior of the cat. He would lie around day and night dreaming of milk. He no longer chased mice or even paid any attention to them. At first, this had little effect since the fear of the cat was so ingrained in the minds of mice. In time they became bolder eventually they lost all fear. They would walk right in front of the cat without a care. The cat would just stare blankly. He was dreaming of milk. The mice roamed freely around the house, dancing, talking and inventing things. This unusual behavior started to interfere with the efficient operation of the farm. The chickens were so upset they would not lay eggs. This mooing and these rumors shattered the cow's nerves; they gave no milk. The cat no longer received his daily bowl of milk, he was not doing his job and there was no milk to give him. Word of the cat's strange behavior spread to neighboring farms. Mice through out the countryside came to farmer Brown's farm. Soon, there were mice running around everywhere dong what ever they liked. Farmer Brown was going broke. Something had to be done.

The cat was fired and forced to leave the farm. He was put in a cage and driven 10 miles away and dropped off way out in the country. He was now far away from the hypnotic influence of the mooing sound. He woke up and became himself again. For the first time he realized there was something wrong. He fell into a normal undisturbed sleep. When he woke he started to think and figure things out. Soon he knew exactly what happened. It was that mouse that haunted his dreams. That hypnotic mooing sound echoing in his mind. It was that mouse, Mikey Moo-moo. He had to get that mouse!

He started the long walk back to the farm thinking how he was going to get rid that mouse. He would sneak up on him and chase him out of the farm. When he arrived he saw Mikey Moo-moo out in the field grazing on grass like a cow. Slowly, he stalked the mouse sneaking upon him. Mikey saw the cat but to the cat's surprise he did not run. Mikey being a male realized that he was a male cow, not really a cow, but a bull! He started to snort, hiss and kick up his back legs. The cat stopped startled and stared in amazement. Fear blazed through the cat?s mind. This small mouse suddenly became like a train getting ready to run him down. The cat stopped in his tracks and turned and ran. He ran very fast and very far and did not look back.

This action of chasing away the cat had a major effect on Mikey. Most of his life, he only wanted to be was a cow. He had the disposition of a calm contended cow. Now, he realized that he was more than just a cow. He was a full-grown male cow. He was a bull! It was time for him to leave behind the youthful behavior of his cow-like childhood.. He was a mature macho bull and he should act like one. He no longer mooed like a cow. He became the strong silent type. Occasionally, he snorted a grumbling bellow. The most consequential aspect of this change in Mikey was that the farm was no longer exposed to his hypnotic mooing sound. The cat was scared out of his wits. He ran away as fast as he could.

He felt the same fear and humiliation that mice experienced, when he chased them. For a brief moment he even felt sympathy and compassion for the mice. He hid in the bushes scared to even move until he fell asleep. He slept a long time not dreaming of milk or bulls but dreaming of chasing mice. It took him a few days to actually start chasing them again. The newfound bravado that the mice had towards the cat, vanished when the cat came charging at them. They ran just like the used to run. The cat very seldom encountered Mikey since he spent most of his time out in the cow field acting like a bull.

Without the mooing sound agitating them Ted's, Fred's and Millie's activities subsided. Ted still gossiped a little but he was not as imaginative and he did not exaggerate as much. He would discuss the weather or the size of the corn crop, which was of great concern to chickens and pigs. Fred still had many inventive ideas but lacked the initiative to act upon them. He became more of a philosophic dreamer, planing to build a space ship or a time machine. Millie still danced but was no longer inspired to dance jazz or ballet. She now did the foxtrot or the twist. She was not able to prance though out the farmhouse as she did before. Her dance was restricted to the narrow space in-between the walls of the farmhouse. All the activity and liveliness of the mice was now restricted by the renewed fear of the cat.

Life has a way of balancing itself out. Day to day existence returned to normal on the farm. The chickens laid eggs and the cows gave milk like before. The mice that came from the other farms returned home. Farmer Brown did not have to sell the farm; his profits actually went up. All the animals some how became more contented. life went on as it usually does and it was even a little better.

If there was a moral to this tale it would not be that things always work out for the best because they don't, or that every one should just be themselves, because deep down inside they will always be themselves. I guess it would be that all kinds of strange things happen all the time and that we should just enjoy the interesting times we live in and make the best of it.