The Beach Mouse

Cute short story, mostly fiction

On beautiful mornings, I would walk along the quiet but critter active beach where I lived. The area where I spent many mornings had a steep cliffside attached to it. This particular morning I took a blanket with me and laid it down near a few large boulders that were about twenty feet from the water. The sun had already risen and warmed up the air, but the breeze from the water still made it enjoyable. I sat and listened to the waves and watched the seagulls fly about over the water. The complete atmosphere of this place was very peaceful and relaxing to me.

But while I rested there, I heard a strange and quick squeaky sound about ten feet away from me. I didn’t see anyone walking the waters edge though, so I wasn't sure what it was. After about a minute or two, I heard the squeak again. This time it was on the other side of me and the boulders. I slowly twisted and peeked around the one boulder, and was surprised by what I saw. A mouse on the beach? This cute little white with grey mouse was nosing along the sand all by itself. Why would there be a mouse on the beach, I wondered.

The little critter walked around with it’s nose wiggling and obviously looking for something.

“Well hello there little one. Do you live near by?” I asked.

Of course I didn’t expect the mouse to answer me, but I watched it as it sniffed around. The mouse didn’t seem frightened at all as it walked up to the edge of my blanket and sniffed it. It even seemed to look at me before it was on it’s merry way. I continued to watch it as it glanced around and headed toward the base of the cliff. The little guy or gal then stopped and sniffed the plants that were there, and then started to nibble on them. It ate the whole stem off one and then the leaf at the end. I hadn't really thought about what mice like to eat before so this was interesting.

When the mouse finished eating, it chewed off another stem and leaf and carried it in its mouth. I continued to watch it while it walked close to the the cliffside. I got up out of curiosity when I couldn’t see the mouse anymore from where I was sitting. I kept my distance of course but followed it.

The little mouse scurried along with the stem in its mouth like it knew exactly where it needed to go. I must have walked about a hundred and fifty feet from where it plucked the stem before it slipped into a small hole in the side of the cliff. I quickly stopped and watched. After it disappeared into the hole for about a minute, the little mouse came back out. He looked around and then scurried back in the direction that we both came from.

I waited there for a minute and then sat down on the sand. A few more minutes passed and the little mouse didn't come back yet. But, what I did see was another little mouse as it peeked its head out of the hole. Looks like someone might have a family in that hole, I thought.

The cute little mouse stepped out a little further and looked to the right. Without further delay, the other little mouse showed up with two more pieces of plant in its mouth. It was a scene that showed love, support, and duty. In our human world sometimes that seems to be missing. But anyway, I continued to wait a few more minutes to see if the little mouse couple would emerge again but they didn’t. They must have settled down for a morning siesta.

So I got up and went back to my blanket. I knew that it was time to head home, so back down the beach I walked and up to the ramp. It was a beautiful and pleasurable morning I must say. And quite a surprise to see a couple of mice living on the beach.

Later that day I did some research and found out that mice living on the beach is more common than I had thought. On many other beaches where they have dunes is where mice tend to have their homes. I read that they had to adapt to beach living when human construction took over their lands. It also said that most of the time the mice would forage at night time which that’s what I thought. Well, with this little couple, there must have been a good reason why they were up so early this morning.

All I know is, it was an interesting and even sweet thing to see. Two mice doing what they need to do to survive and keep their little family safe. So, if you ever see a mouse on the beach, don't be alarmed. They are only trying to survive and live life like the rest of us.

The End