The Halloween Mouse (3 page)
In a police hat, he could be a cop.
In a beret, an artist.
In a top hat, a magician.
In a fedora, a private eye.
In a ten-gallon hat, a cowpoke.
In a helmet, a soldier.
Sitting there on the stair, Timothy imagined himself in hat after hat after hat.
"But I don't
have
a hat," he reminded himself. "I don't have a cape, either."
Oh, but if he
did
have a cape . . . !
Perched on the stair, he pictured himself as a super hero.
as D'Artagnan,
as Zorro,
as Dracula.
"Oh," he thought, "the things you can do with a hat or a cape!"
But he had no hat or cape at all. He had only himself.
"I can't go trick-or-treating as myself. But perhaps I don't need to dress up."
He could simply tap-dance and pretend to be a dancer.
He could act sly and pretend to be a secret agent.
Or stand on his head and pretend to be an upside-down mouse.
"Wait" he thought. "I
am
a mouse. I don't need to dance or act sly or stand on my head. I'll go trick-or-treating as
myself.
. . No, wait. That's not done . . . But why not go as a
different
mouse?
"I'll trick-or-treat as Mickey or Mighty or Jerry or maybe as Stuart Little!"
It seemed like a wonderful idea until Timothy realized that all those mice wore outfits . . . and he had none.
"Ha! I'll say I lost my clothes. Or I borrowed the
Emperor's
new clothes!"
Timothy laughed at the idea, and as he shook his head from side
to
side, he saw a large white cat creeping toward him through the grass.
He gasped.
Then he smiled. "That isn't a cat. It's a nice little boy or girl dressed
up for trick-or-treating. But what a fine costume it is! It looks so
real!"
While the cat creeping toward Timothy seemed very large for a cat it seemed very
small
for a boy or girl. And it carried no bag for its Halloween treats.
"
REEEEOWWWWWW"
It was a very cat-like roar and very un-childlike.
"Uh-oh," thought Timothy.
It sprang at him!
"Yikes!"
