On The Intelligent Design Of Mice (guest blogging by Isabella)

I know my daddies are smart, but sometimes they do things that just aren't very intelligent. Like leaving me home alone all day. Well of course I sometimes get in trouble. Helloooo? I'm home alone without supervision and I'm bored! What do they expect? I have no idea what they could possibly be doing when they're not home with me. It must be terribly important for it to take them away from ME because I'm the most important thing in their lives. I know it's true because of all the special things they do just for me!

One thing I like about my daddies is when they make toys for me. They make something they call a "mouse" which is a little toy covered with fur and stuffed with catnip, pointy at one end and with a little tail sticking out the other. Everything fits together so well! Without the catnip it wouldn't be nearly as much fun, and without the fur it would all fall apart. And without the tail... well, without the tail it just wouldn't be a mouse, would it? Sometimes they give the mouse to me, and sometimes they put it where they know I will find it while they're gone. They're so much fun to play with but they don't last very long. Every time I chew one up they make me another one. I don't know how they make them, or what they make them out of, because I've never seen them do it. I don't ask too many questions because I'm just so happy they keep making them for me. (And besides, if my daddies don't make them, where could the mouses possibly be coming from? They're no good for anything except me playing with them.)

Well, a few weeks ago they really outdid themselves. I found a new mouse under the sofa. I didn't see them put it there, but I know they left it there just for me. There isn't anybody else in this house they could possibly have made it for! But this one was different from all the others they ever made for me. I always had to bat the old ones around myself, but this one MOVED. And not from somebody pulling it on a string either (I checked); it moved all on its own! It didn't have any catnip in it, but it smelled delicious in a completely different way. I don't know how they did it, but they figured out how to make something that smells even better than catnip. They're so clever! It was just about perfect and I could tell everything about it was made JUST for me, smell and all. It had eyes and ears, so it see and hear me and run away from me, and it was SO much fun to chase around the house! It had a cute little tail like the others, but whenever I touched the tail of this one, it jumped and tried to run away! But best of all, when I played with it, it made the most delicious little squeaking noises! How did they know this was EXACTLY what I wanted when I didn't even know it myself! It was even better than the cicadas they made for me last year, and those were so much fun. I guess all they needed was a little practice. My daddies do surprise me sometimes, and that's one of the things I love about them.

The biggest problem with the old mouses was that eventually they just fall apart. First the tail comes off, then their fur gets icky after I slobber all over them, the catnip loses its smell, and they come apart at the seams and the catnip starts leaking out (and it doesn't even taste good). I thought they might fix some of those problems with the new model, but this one didn't last even one night. First it stopped running around, and then it stopped squeaking. I kept poking it and batting it around, hoping it would start working again, but it was no use, it was broken. I was so sad. It was the very best gift they EVER made for me, and I broke it. I left it in the middle of the living room rug so they would see it and make me a new one. I saw them pick it up the next morning and they looked quite concerned about it. I don't think they realized it would break so quickly. I guess they still need more practice making toys. I know they'll make me a new one but they must not be easy to make because it's already been a few weeks and I'm still waiting. If they think the stick-under-the-newspaper game is going to keep me entertained, they'd better think again.

Oops, gotta go! I think I hear the stick!

Isabella