The Tidy Mouse

[ysabetwordsmith]

A man in Wales found his workbench inexplicably cleaned up overnight. So he set a camera to record it ...


... and found a mouse.

My first thought was, "World's best glamour, it even holds up on camera!"

Because Wales is home to faeries, and they're known for tidying. They're also known to disguise themselves as other critters, among which mice are a favorite. Admittedly, handling metal parts is somewhat less likely, but there are a few fey who can even handle cold iron.

Mice will gather food, or bedding, but they are messy and leave traces. They don't tend to meddle with things that aren't edible, gnawable, or shreddable. They mess things up rather than putting things away. I suppose it's theoretically possible for a mouse to behave in an unmouselike manner, but it seems a far stretch.

In a situation like that, turning a camera on the spot is damn risky. You might just get abandoned. You also might get hexed up one side and down the other. This guy was so, so lucky.

Comments

[acelightning73]

I was getting ready for a six-hour car trip to visit relatives 600 miles away, and last year we couldn't go because the highways were closed to remove abandoned cars so they could speed-plow it. I needed snow boots. I went to one of the discount shoe places and got a pair of plain black suede (outside) boots - they have a fleece lining,they're waterproof, and I can walk in them without falling down. I thought they were too plain, so I went to a fabric store that has a huge selection of decorative trim, and I got some that has a sort of a tapestry design in various colors. I also got two non-functional silver buckles, which I threaded on the ribbon. I glued the ribbon around the tops of the boots, with the buckles in front, and they're a whole lot more colorful than a pair of plain black boots would be.And in conjunction with the fleece-lined leggings I bought, my legs and feet were comfortably warm on the long car ride. So the house spirits, trying to be helpful, left the length of ribbon draped over the boots where I set them down in order to work on them. I saw how right my choice of ribbon was. - the slightly muted tapestry colors were bright enough against the black background. The lady I met in the truck stop restroom asked me where I got them, so I explained.

[nsfwords]

The boots really do sound lovely :-D

>>I can walk in them without falling down<<
This would be my favorite feature.

[acelightning73]

I had a pair of snow boots, in a men's size roughly equivalent to my womens' size, and when I fastened the velcro, I couldn't bend my ankle so my toes pointed at my knees. It was hard to go up and down even one step. So I just decided to add new boots to my list of fleece-lined leggings, winter jacket with a smooth lining that doesn't get stuck to my shirt sleeves, and warm socks. The decision to decorate them was pure whim. I had tried on the plain black ones to see how they fit. When they fit perfectly, I had to "personalize" them. But I know this one fabric shop - it's in an ethnic neighborhood, where the women sew their own mother-of-the-bride dresses. They have a huge array of trim, and fabrics I'd love to wear, except I'd look foolish in zebra stripes made out of silver and purple sequins. (If I knew someone who needed a figure-skating or gymnastics costume, I'd look through the pattern books and buy the fabric there.) And I chose a tapetry-like abstract pattern, in slightly muted colors (one of which is mauve) instead of the purple metallic braid I first picked out, which would have been too gaudy. (Not that I've ever let that stop me.)

Not that I've ever let that stop me.

[nsfwords]

>>Not that I've ever let that stop me.<<

Never, ever let that stop you!

I need new gloves. It's -10 with the windchill today and I own 0 pairs of gloves? Why am I like this, lol. Its because I hate gloves, and the way they mute touch and dexterity. But I imagine I'd hate frostbite even more, so when I'm grocery shopping today new gloves are a must. Maybe even 2 pair. Blargh.

Re: Not that I've ever let that stop me.

[acelightning73]

A few years ago, during a cold snap, my nearest grocery store had a big cardboard bin (like they use for watermelons and pumpkins) full of winter gloves and hats right inside the front door. I found a hat that matched my fuzzy jacket, light lavender like the jacket but knitted with silver glitter yarn here and there. And I also got gloves that matched. Those are all stuffed into the pocket of my fuzzy jacket, but they'll also go with the new winter coat I got. I don't like wearing gloves either, but I lose dexterity when my fingers get cold. Maybe you can get a pair that has conductive fibers knitted into the fingertips, so you can use your phone's touch screen with your gloves on.

I have a tendency to wear inappropriately sparkly accessories in public - especially sparkly socks. Yes, part of me is six years old and has an overdeveloped sensawunda.