Hickory the little Mouse.

Look Mom, there’s a little mouse,”

“Where is it Mary?” Mom asked.

“There at the foot of my bed. It’s so small.”

“Yes, let’s be very quiet and not frighten it,” said Mom.

So they both kept quiet and watched the little mouse. It stood up on its tiny legs; brushed it’s whiskers with its little paw and seemed to say, “Hello, nice to meet you!”

Then is scurried away from the foot of the bed, out the open doorway and outside into the warm summer’s night.“What a happy little mouse,” said Mary.

“Yes, Mary. It seemed to know we were kind people. Now it’s time for you to go to sleep,” her mother said. She tucked Mary up in bed, gave her a kiss and quietly walked out.

Mary closed her eyes and thought about the day she’d had. Swimming; climbing trees;playing Pirates with her friends; and drinking cool orange juice with Mom and Dad.

Then she fell asleep and dreamed of the little mouse. Here’s her dream:……………………………………………………………………………………………

Mary's Dream

The blue sky
Birds flying by
Roses and honeysuckle
Gentle streams
Tiny fish
A tiny pathway
Through the tall, tall trees

What a day!Hickory, the little mouse,was so happy.

Playing; exploring; climbing;All day!Then she heard the old clock on the tall church steeple -chiming, chiming, chiming.Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.

“Oh dear, I think I’m late for dinner,” she said to hermself.

“Hickory, Hickory, where are you,” she heard his mother calinm.

“Oh dear, I know I’m late. I know I’m late,” she said again.

Her mother, Mrs. Mouse, smiled at her as she came into their kitchen.“You’re just in time for dinner, Hickory,” she said.

“What is it, Mom?”

“It’s your favorite!”Hickory smiled,

“Welsh Rarebit!”“Yes! Cheese on bread and all toasted!”

“Thanks Mom. Scrumptuous!”

Her mother and father also enjoyed the Welsh Rarebit. Mrs Mouse said, ”Hickory, I think you’ve got a problem telling what time it is. Grandma and Grandpa said they’d help you learn how to read a clock. They’ll call in after dinner to help you.”

Sure enough, after dinner, Grandma Mouse and Grandpa Mouse knocked on the door. “Come in, come in,” said Mr. and Mrs. Mouse.

After a warm cup of tea, Grandma Mouse turned to Hickory and said, “Grandpa and I want to help you learn how to tell the time.”

“Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa.”

“First of all you’ve got to climb up the clock and listen to what it’s saying,” said Grandpa Mouse with a grin.

So Hickory climbed up the tall clock and put his ear to it.

“It’s saying Tick Tock; Tick Tock; Tick Toc.”Grandma Mouse said, “Come down again Hickory.”

So Hickory climbed carefully down.“Do you see the two hands of the clock?”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

“What size are they?”

“One’s small and one’s big,” Hickory said.

“Good,” said Grandma Mouse. “When the small hand points to a number, then that’s the hour.“

"And when the big hand points to 12, that’s exactly the hour it is,” said Grandpa Mouse.

“Here’s a little rhyme that’ll help you,” said Grandma Mouse:

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse did run!
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Hickory, Mrs. Mouse, Grandma and Grandpa Mouse all laughed and laughed and laughed.

“It’s about me,” laughed Hickory.

“Grandma and I’ve written a verse for every hour, to help you remember,” said Grandpa Mouse.

“Here it is. But we’ve been thinking of your brother Tommy. When he’s older you can teach him the rhyme. So when you read the rhyme you’ll see we’ve used the words HE and SHE.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” cried Hickory and hugged Grandma and Grandpa.

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse did run!
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck two
She hid in a shoe
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck three
He had some tea
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck four
She knocked on the door
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck five
He saw a beehive
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck six
She picked up some sticks
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck seven
He walked to Devon
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck eight
She looked in the grate
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck nine
He looked at the time
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck ten
She wrote with a pen
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck eleven
His face started to redden
Hickory Dickory Dock!

Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck twelve
And she sat on the shelve
Hickory Dickory Dock!

…………………………………

“Oh, thank you Grandma and Grandpa. Just for me…that’s wonderful!” Hickory said.…………………………………

The blue sky
Birds flying by
Roses and honeysuckle
Gentle streams
Tiny fish.
A tiny pathway
Through the tall, tall trees.
What a day!
………………………………….

What a day, Hickory had.
What a dream, Mary had.

Mary smiled happily in her sleep. She’d see Hickory, Mrs. Mouse, Grandma and Grandpa Mouse, again in her dreams

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Verse 1 is an old, old rhyme. Verses 2-12 were written by us.You can hear the rhyme sung on “you tube”. Search for it on Google.
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