A Mouse, A Leg And A Piece of Victoria Sponge

A mouse ran up my leg. Yes, that’s right, a mouse – this is no nursery rhyme. A mouse actually ran up my leg. INSIDE my trousers. And they were baggy trousers. A little slower reaction from me and it would have been real trouble – for me and the mouse.

I was just preparing myself and the owner of the Mouse House a large slice of Victoria Sponge each, innocently going about my business. I opened the cupboard to get out a couple of plates, when I thought I felt something racing up my leg.

It is amazing how much goes through your mind in a split second, because I thought, no, what could possibly be racing up my leg – it’s way to large to be a spider – it must just be my trousers hitting my leg in a funny way. Until I heard the Mouse House Owner cry in horror “You…”. Just that one word – no more was needed the horrified voice gave it all away and I realised that this was no trouser leg racing up my leg.

I decided it must be a massive spider then and put the plates down and started shaking my leg about, only for a mouse to come hurtling out of the foot hole of my trousers and scurry under the washing machine.

I think my post-mouse-up-leg reaction was more frantic than the small yelp I gave when I realised that there really was something racing up my leg. I raced out of the kitchen and started jumping from one foot to the other, shaking like a leaf, heart racing, not wanting to put my feet still on the ground.

I had to race up to the bathroom, take my trousers off and hop about a bit more. Then I was too scaredy cat to put my trousers back on. Breathe, Ms Jones, Breathe. So a few deep breaths later, I was laying my trousers flat on the floor and patting them down just to make sure there were no stray mice in there, before gathering all the courage I could muster to put them back on again.

Ugh. Mice racing up your legs is not a nice business. However I was rather proud to be commended by the husband of the Mouse House Owner for my bravery in the face of danger. Who’d have thought? Ms Jones under-reacting. And this from a lady with a keen sense of the dramatic.

God I’m brave.