Thomasina lived in a bank under a hedge. She was very tidy and was always sweeping up after beetles or spiders who chanced to wander uninvited into her home. Thomasina was also a might—just a tad, mind you—forgetful being of a very advanced age. She sometimes thought to herself, “I really should reckon just how old I am,” but it was not an easy task for she had already been an old mouse when first she came to the attention of the wide world, and was that, she would think to herself while dusting, in 1908 (8), 1909 (7), or 1910 (3)?
One day as Thomasina was taking a seed cake out of the oven, she thought, “This is the most wonderful, yummy seed cake that has ever been baked in the wood or over the meadow. I shall have a tea party and invite all of my friends.” She looked around her tidy home. “I mustn’t invite the one who lost one shoe among the cabbages and the other among the potatoes for he will surely track dirty prints all over my floor.” But Thomasina couldn’t remember if that was Benjamin (7), Mr. Tod (6), or Peter (9). “Dear me,” she murmured and nibbled just a morsel of the seed cake to see if that would improve her memory.
“And I wouldn’t want to invite the one who trapped dear Lady Mouse and Gentleman Mouse under the teacups as he evidently doesn’t have good party manners—even though the mice did escape.” But was that Simpkin (6), Samuel (9), or the tailor (3)? Thomasina thought that her guests would not miss just one more smidgen of the seed cake.
Thomasina nipped at her bite of seed cake thinking, “It would be a poor thing for me if I invited the one who took Lucinda and Jane’s feather bed and a cradle and some pots and pans as I might have nothing at all left in my house when the party was over.” Try as she might, Thomasina could not recall if that had been Twinkleberry (5), Pickles (0), or Hunca Munca (6). Thomasina now noticed that the seed cake was a little lopsided on one end (due to her smidgen being somewhat larger than she had intended but perhaps we shan’t mention that now being the polite readers that we are!). “I’ll just even it up a bit,” she muttered to nobody in particular.
Nibble nibble went Thomasina. “If I invited that unfortunate fellow who crashed into the middle of a dinner party, breaking three glasses, I should never hear the end of it from the neighbors,” she squeaked. “I believe it was Jeremy (7), or possibly Chippy (1), or it might have been Timmy Willie (4).” Poor Thomasina was in quite a muddle. The afternoon was proceeding, as afternoons are wont to do, toward teatime and she still did not have a guest list for her party. To steady her nerves she resolved to have just a tiny crumb of seed cake.
Munch munch went Thomasina. “Never, never could I invite the cat who lives down the lane for she bakes mouse pie and I would likely end up in a pink and white pie dish in my very own oven.” Thomasina’s whiskers twitched at the idea. She had never been properly introduced to the cat and didn’t know her name. Perhaps it was Ginger (0), Ribby (8), or Tabitha (6).
Just then the clock on the sitting room mantle struck tea time. “Oh, bother,” said Thomasina. “It’s time for the party and I do not have a single guest.” Thomasina looked sadly at her clean little house, at her beautiful tablecloth made of the finest Queen Anne’s Lace, at her lovely walnut shell cake platter holding...nary a crumb of seed cake! She had eaten it all! “Well,” said Thomasina, cleaning cake crumbs off of her whiskers, “things do generally come out all right in the end. No guests and no seed cake seem to match!”
THE END
This cache was placed in honor of tittlemouse reaching her 1K find. Congratulations!
The tea party is not located at the above coordinates. It is located at
N 41 09._ _ _ W 081 25._ _ _.
Please do not come to the tea party before 9 AM or after 9 PM. And do not mind the muggle alarm. The off switch seems to be broken and he can’t get out anyway!
Click to check your address for the tea party.