name : Books-OUT OF THE BOX.doc
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Maisie Mouse lived in a box. It was a safe place to live. Maisie had been left all alone when she was just a baby. She had felt very frightened. There were so many things in the big wide world that could spell danger for a teeny tiny mouse.

Cats that prowled around with gleaming green eyes, looking for a tasty mouse snack. Birds who swooped down from the sky to snatch up any little creature they saw. Giant dogs with sharp teeth who liked to chase small things that moved. And snakes that slithered through the long dry grass and could swallow a mouse whole!

Maisie spent many days and nights running from cats and dogs, and hiding from birds and snakes. It wasn�t a nice way to live.

One day Maisie found an old wooden box that had been left in the yard of an abandoned house. The lid had been nailed shut but there was a hole at the bottom of the box which was just big enough for Maisie to squeeze through.

At first Maisie was afraid to go into the box, unsure of what she might find. But, luckily, the only thing inside was some paper. Maisie felt safe inside the box and she knew it would be the perfect place to live.

She began gathering small sticks and grass from outside to put in the box. It took a very long time because she couldn�t carry much at once. Finally she finished her grassy bed. It was very cosy.

All that work had made Maisie hungry so she timidly ventured back out into the garden. It was very overgrown but Maisie found some vegetables hidden beneath the weeds. There was enough food in the garden to keep Maisie well fed for a very long time. She nibbled on the vegetables until her tummy was full. Then she went back into her box and settled down to sleep.

Maisie did exactly the same thing the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Every day Maisie brought in fresh grass for her bed and nibbled the vegetables in the garden.

She never went further than the vegetable patch and didn�t explore other parts of the garden. She was happy just to stay inside her box because that was where she felt safe.
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Days, weeks, and even months passed by. Maisie did the same thing, day after day after day. One night as Maisie lay in her grassy bed, she heard a snuffling sound outside the box. Her heart beat faster as she thought about cats with gleaming green eyes and dogs with sharp teeth. She knew no cat or dog could fit through the hole in her box � but a snake could!

Maisie was very scared. The snuffling was getting louder. Whatever was making the noise was right near the hole! Maisie began to drag some of the sticks and grass from her bed over to the hole. Maybe she could block it up so the mystery snuffler couldn�t get in.

She stuffed as much grass as she could into the hole, and then poked some sticks in too.

�Ouch!� said a voice.

Maisie jumped. �Wh-who�s there?� she squeaked.

�I�m Milton,� said the voice. �I�m a mouse and I was just looking for somewhere to sleep. You poked me right in the face!�

Maisie pushed the grass aside and saw two beady little eyes staring back at her. �Oh, I�m sorry,� she said. �I thought you were a snake.� She pulled out the rest of the grass and saw a little grey face, very much like her own. �Come in�.

The mouse climbed into the box and looked around. �What a nice home you have,� he said. Then he bowed to Maisie. �As I said, I�m Milton, and I�m looking for somewhere safe to stay tonight.�

�I�m Maisie,� said Maisie shyly. �You can stay here if you like. There�s plenty of room.�

�Thank you, that would be wonderful,� said Milton. �There are too many cats prowling around at night for my liking.�

Maisie shuddered. �Yes, I remember. Before I found this box I was always running away from cats. And dogs, and birds and snakes. I don�t go out much anymore. I just like to stay inside my box.�

											Page 3

�Really?� asked Milton in surprise. �I love to explore. I never stay in one place for long. There is so much to discover and enjoy. I would get bored staying in the same place.�

�I feel safe in this box and in the garden,� said Maisie. �I don�t want to go out into the unknown.�

�But the unknown doesn�t have to be unknown forever,� said Milton. �Because once you go into the unknown, you are there, so it isn�t unknown anymore.�

Maisie thought about this but then shook her head. �No, inside this box is where I want to stay � always.�

�Your choice of course,� said Milton. �But you don�t know what you�re missing.�

�I�m happy,� said Maisie. �But you are welcome to stay here as long as you like. I would enjoy your company. It does get a little lonely on my own sometimes.�

�Thanks, Maisie,� said Milton. �I�d like to stay but I don�t know if it will be for a day or for a week. When I feel the need for a new adventure I will leave.�
 
Maisie did enjoy Milton�s company. It was nice to have someone to talk to and eat with and snuggle up with at night. Milton was kind and funny. He made Maisie laugh and he told her wonderful stories about his adventures.

He had lived in so many different places � in a haystack on a farm, inside a hollow log, in a shed full of chickens and even in a car once.

�How did you get inside the car?� asked Maisie giggling.

�The lady who owned it had left the door open so I thought I�d have a quick look inside. I�d never been inside a car before,� explained Milton. �I climbed up one of the tyres and managed to get inside from there. But the lady came back and closed the door before I could get out.�

�What happened?� asked Maisie.

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�I spent the night in the car � very hungry I might add � and in the morning the lady got in and started to drive. I knew I had to do something to get her attention so I climbed up the back of her seat and on to her shoulder.�

Maisie�s eyes opened wide.

�Well!� said Milton. �You should have heard her scream! She nearly crashed into a tree. She slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car and flicked me off her shoulder. I landed on the ground and it really hurt, I can tell you. I thought she was going to squash me so I ran away as fast as I could!�

Maisie laughed until she cried. But even though she loved listening to Milton�s tales, Maisie still did the same thing every day and wouldn�t go beyond the vegetable patch, even though Milton did. Sometimes she sat just outside the box and watched her friend scurrying away across the garden. She wished she was braver but, each time she thought she might follow Milton, she changed her mind at the last minute.

Weeks passed by and then one day Milton came to Maisie with a serious look on his face. �Maisie, the time has come,� he said. �I can�t stay in this box anymore. There is a big exciting world out there and it�s waiting for me.�

Maisie felt sad. She was used to having Milton around and she would miss his lively energy and funny stories.

�You have been very kind, letting me stay here,� said Milton. �But this is not the life for me.�

�Where will you go?� asked Maisie.

�Well, to start with, I�m not going very far at all,� said Milton smiling. �I�m going to live in the abandoned house at the end of the garden. I have already been inside and it�s wonderful! So many nooks and crannies to explore and there are quite a few other mice already living there. They are all friendly and will be good company. We�ll have lots of fun.�

�Oh,� said Maisie quietly. She didn�t know what else to say.


											Page 5

�Why don�t you come with me?� said Milton. �It�s safe and not too far away and you can always come back here if you don�t like it.�

�No,� said Maisie shaking her head. �This is where I�ll stay.�

�I�m sorry Maisie,� said Milton. �But I can�t live in a tiny box for the rest of my life. I remember once, a long time ago, I was exploring a human�s house and there was a mouse in a cage. There was a running wheel in the cage � for exercise I suppose. Anyway, I watched that poor little fellow run and run and run � never getting anywhere. At that moment I decided I�d never spend my life cooped up in a cage or waste time running on the spot. Life is an adventure and freedom is the greatest thing of all. You can�t live in fear of what might happen, because then you miss out on all the other good things.�

Milton gave Maisie a little kiss on the nose and, as he left, he said, �It�s time to get off the wheel.�

Maisie peeped out of the hole and watched Milton scurry past the vegetable patch and across the garden. She sat, looking out, long after Milton had disappeared. Then she turned and went back inside her box.

Everything felt different once Milton had gone. Her box, which had always seemed so cosy and snug, now felt cold and empty. The vegetable patch that had seemed like a paradise full of food, now looked boring and colourless.
								
The happiness Maisie had felt, doing the same thing day after day, had vanished. Now she just felt sad and alone.

Days went by and Maisie missed Milton dreadfully. She thought about all the things he�d said and suddenly a little spark of excitement fizzed in Maisie�s stomach. She imagined Milton saying, �It�s time to get off the wheel,� and her excitement grew.

�I don�t want to do the same thing every day anymore,� said Maisie. �I don�t want to spend my life in this little box. I want to go into the unknown and have adventures.� 
Page 6

Maisie wriggled through the hole in the box, took a deep breath and started to run. She ran past the vegetable patch and across the garden. She ran and didn�t look back. She ran and ran until she reached the abandoned house.

Maisie�s heart was thumping in her little chest. She had made it to the house safely but now what? Maisie ran along the verandah, looking for a way to get inside. There was no room to squeeze under the doors, and the windows were all shut tight. Maisie sniffed along the bottom of the walls, desperately looking for a hole.

What if a cat with gleaming green eyes came along? Or a dog with sharp teeth? What if a bird swooped down and carried Maisie away, or a snake lay in wait around the corner?

Just as Maisie had decided to run back to her box, she saw it � a small gap where one of the walls had been damaged. Carefully Maisie wriggled through the gap. She almost got stuck but, at last, she was inside the house, and who should be there but Milton! He was very surprised.

�Maisie!� he said smiling. �I can�t believe you�re here!�

�Neither can I,� she panted.

�What made you come?� asked Milton.

�All the things you said to me,� replied Maisie. �I want to live my life, not waste it doing the same thing every day.�								

�I�m so glad,� said Milton. �And I�m very proud of you. Just wait until you see this place! There are so many rooms, and cupboards, and shelves, and lots of other mice. Our adventures have just begun. Come on, Maisie, let�s go and explore!�



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