Mice Capades

by Diana Gallagher

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Who Wants to be a Mad Scientist?

  Chapter 2: Beg, Borrow, and Buy

  Chapter 3: What's the Problem?

  Chapter 4: Mouse on the Run

  Chapter 5: Peanut-Butter Bread and a Missing Batter

  Chapter 6: Batters Up and See How They Run

  Chapter 7: Maze Daze and a Desperate Plea

  Chapter 8: Home is Where the Cage Is

  Who Wants to Be a Mad Scientist?

  On Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. Lockwood made an important announcement to her fourth-grade class.

  “Clark Elementary School will be hosting a science fair next week,” she told them. “Everyone is expected to participate. You’ll each be doing a project and giving a presentation to the class.”

  Some of the kids groaned, but Kyle Blake and Mia Perez grinned at each other in excitement. This assignment was perfect for them. Kyle and Mia were next-door neighbors and best friends. More importantly, they both loved animals and science. Mostly because they wanted to be veterinarians like Kyle’s mom, Dr. Blake, when they grew up.

  Billy Evans raised his hand. “Can I make stink bombs?” he asked.

  “Eww!” Lacey Ortega squealed.

  “Do you have a scientific question about stink bombs, Billy?” Mrs. Lockwood asked. She wasn’t grossed out.

  Billy shrugged. “No, I just want to make stink bombs,” he said.

  Mia rolled her eyes. Billy always wanted to do the grossest thing possible.

  Mrs. Lockwood smiled. “Well, stink bombs could be a project for the science fair,” she said. “But your project has to follow these steps.” She passed out an instruction sheet to all the students.

  There were six steps written on the front of the handout.

  Ask a question.

  Find out what is already known.

  Decide what you think the answer will be.

  Experiment to test your hypothesis.

  Record what happens.

  Draw a conclusion: Was your hypothesis right or wrong?

  “I need to know what your projects will be by tomorrow,” Mrs. Lockwood continued. “If you don’t have an idea, there are some ideas for projects listed on the back of your instruction sheet.”

  One of the students raised his hand. “What if my dad wants to help?” he asked.

  “Parents can help build anything that requires using power tools,” Mrs. Lockwood said. “But you have to do the research and experiment on your own.”

  Mia leaned over to Kyle’s desk. “Are you going to do a project about animals?” she whispered.

  Kyle shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said.

  Mia looked surprised. “Why not? You know a lot about them.”

  “That’s exactly why,” Kyle said. “It will be more fun to do something else.”

  “Do you have any ideas?” Mia asked.

  Kyle nodded. “I like baseball, but I’m not a very good hitter,” he admitted. “I thought that using a different bat could help. I think I’ll do an experiment to find out if using a metal bat or a wooden bat makes a difference.”

  “That’s a cool experiment,” Mia said.

  “Thanks,” Kyle said. “What about you?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Mia said. “I like to help my mom in the garden, so maybe something with plants.”

  “Good idea,” Kyle said.

  When the bell rang, Ryan Murray stopped Kyle and Mia by the door. “You know a lot about animals, right?” he asked them.

  “Yeah,” Kyle said. “My mom is a vet. Why?”

  “I want to do my experiment with mice,” Ryan explained. “I want to find out if music makes them smarter. But I don’t really know anything about mice. So I might need some advice.”

  “No problem,” Kyle said. “Mia and I will be happy to help.”

  Beg, Borrow, and Buy

  The next afternoon, Kyle and Mia met Ryan. Their plan was to head to Mr. J’s Pet Haven so they could look at some mice. Mr. J’s Pet Haven was the best pet store in town. Mr. Jabowski, who everyone called Mr. J, had opened it thirty years ago. His store didn’t have as much stuff as some of the big chain stores, but he always remembered his customers and their pets.

  “Mr. J is really nice,” Kyle said. “He likes kids.”

  “And he has everything you’ll need,” Mia added.

  “Cool,” Ryan said. “My dad is going to help me build a maze, and he has a stopwatch I can use. Now I just need to get a CD player and CDs. I want to try having the mice listen to different kinds of music.”

  “Don’t you already have music you can use?” Mia asked.

  Ryan shook his head. “I download all my songs straight to my MP3 player,” he said. “And I can’t exactly put my headphones on the mice.”

  “I guess not,” Kyle said with a laugh. “Too bad, though. I bet Mrs. Lockwood would give you extra credit for teaching mice to wear earbuds.”

  “You can borrow some of my dad’s CDs,” Mia said. “He mostly listens to music from the ’80s. I’m sure he won’t mind. And I’ll ask my mom if you can use the CD player we keep in the garage.”

  “Awesome!” Ryan said with a grin. “Thanks!”

  “Sometimes my mom plays classical music in her vet clinic at night to help keep the animals calm,” Kyle added. “I’m sure she’d be willing to let you borrow one of her CDs, too. I’ll ask. ”

  “Okay,” Ryan said. “I hope the classical music isn’t boring. What if it makes the mice too lazy to run through the maze? But I guess that’s the point of the experiment.”

  A bell chimed as they walked through the front door of Mr. J’s Pet Haven. Jethro, Mr. J’s pet parrot, sat on his perch near the front entrance.

  “Who’s there?” the parrot squawked.

  “It’s just us, Jethro,” Kyle said, pausing by the bird’s perch.

  Jethro looked at Mia and let out a whistle. “Pretty bird,” he squawked.

  “I think the parrot has a crush on you, Mia,” Ryan said.

  “He just wants a treat,” Mia said. She grabbed a cracker out of the dish Mr. J kept on the counter and fed it to the parrot.

  “Mine!” the bird screeched.

  “He sounds like my sister!” Ryan said with a laugh.

  Just then, Mr. J appeared from the back of the store. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite customers!” he exclaimed with a grin. “What brings you kids in today? Anything I can help you find?”

  “Our school science fair is next week,” Ryan explained. “I need to get some mice for my experiment. I want to find out if music makes them smarter.”

  “This sounds like a very interesting project,” Mr. J said. “You’ll have to come back and tell me what happens.”

  “Definitely!” Ryan said.

  Mr. J helped Ryan gather the things he’d need. Together, they carried everything to the register. “Let’s see,” Mr. J said. “Water bottles, food, an exercise wheel, bedding, and chew toys. And you’ll need to make nesting beds for the mice out of cardboard boxes.”

  Ryan looked confused. “Nesting beds?” he repeated.

  “I’ll show you how,” Mia offered. “It’s easy. You just need someplace for them to sleep. We can line it with paper towels or toilet paper so it’s soft.”

  Mr. J rubbed his chin. “Now, what are we missing?” he asked.

  “The mice!” the kids hollered in unison.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Mr. J said, shaking his head. “It’d be hard to do your experiment without those!”

  He led them to a row of cages filled with mice. There were gray mice and bla
ck mice and white mice. There were even spotted mice.

  “I don’t want white ones,” Ryan said. “I won’t be able to tell them apart!”

  “I don’t think you want those guys either,” Mia said, pointing to a black mouse and a brown mouse that shared a cage.

  “Why not?” Ryan asked.

  “Because the brown one is a total bully,” Mia said.

  As they watched, the black mouse took a chew stick into a corner. As soon as it left, the brown mouse dragged the chew stick right back to the middle of the cage. Then the black mouse picked up the same chew stick and dragged it back to the corner. They repeated the routine over and over again.

  Kyle peered into the next cage. “This gray one is hilarious,” he said.

  Inside the cage, a small, gray mouse ran like crazy on a plastic wheel. Suddenly, it stopped running. The wheel lurched, and the mouse fell out. It got right back up and started running again.

  “I think I should get three mice that are as alike as possible,” Ryan said. “That way my experiment will be more accurate.”

  “I have three mice that are brothers,” Mr. J said. He moved to a cage that held three black-and-white mice.

  “Perfect!” Ryan said, peering at the mice. One had a black spot on its back, one had a black spot on its head, and one was almost entirely black except for a white spot on its middle. “They all have different markings so I’ll be able to tell them apart.”

  Mr. J put the mice into a carrying box and brought them to the front of the store. Ryan paid for his purchases, and the kids gathered up the mice and the rest of the supplies.

  “Get lost!” Jethro shouted as they left.

  “Do you guys want to come inside and help me set up?” Ryan asked when they reached his house.

  “Sure,” Kyle agreed. “My dad is taking me to the store later to buy bats for my experiment, but I have time.”

  Mia and Kyle followed Ryan into his room. Right away, they got to work setting up the cage. Kyle filled the water bottle and attached it to the inside of the cage. Then he spread the bedding around and added the chew toys and food.

  When the cage was ready, Mia handed Ryan the box with the mice so he could put them in their cage. “Here you go!” she said.

  Ryan immediately handed the box back to her. “Um, that’s okay. You can do it,” he said quickly. “I . . . uh . . . I have to go to the bathroom.”

  With that, he abruptly hurried out of the room and slammed the door.

  What’s the Problem?

  Ryan sat with Kyle and Mia during lunch the next day.

  “How are the mice doing?” Kyle asked.

  “Fine,” Ryan said. “They’re eating and drinking and using the wheel. But I don’t think they like the orange pieces in their food. They keep dropping them outside the cage.”

  “What did you name them?” Mia asked.

  “Classical, Heavy Metal, and Mouse,” Ryan said. “That way I can keep track of which one is which during the experiment. Mouse is the one that won’t listen to any music.”

  “Are you going to change their names afterward?” Kyle asked. “My mom always says that pets should have real names that fit their personalities.”

  “I bet we could come up with some good ones,” Ryan said. “They do some really weird stuff.”

  “Like what?” Mia asked.

  “They’re just really hyper,” Ryan said. “Classical likes to run in and out of a toilet-paper roll, and Mouse wiggles and squeaks when I put food in the dish.”

  “That’s cute,” Mia said.

  “I guess so,” Ryan said. “Heavy Metal is eating the house I made out of an empty oatmeal box. It’s going to be gone before I can eat enough oatmeal to make him another one. You guys should come see them after school.”

  “I want to, but I haven’t finished my experiment yet,” Kyle said.

  “Me neither,” Mia said. “I set up my bean seeds last night. I’m going to see if they’ll grow using anything other than water. I just hope they sprout in time. The science fair is next week!”

  “I hope my mice can learn the maze by then,” Ryan said.

  “Did you start training them?” Kyle asked.

  Ryan shook his head. “No, the maze won’t be done until tomorrow. You should see it. It’s really cool.”

  “I can stop by tomorrow,” Kyle offered.

  “Oh. Okay.” Ryan looked disappointed. He turned to Mia. “Did you ask your mom about the CD player?”

  Mia nodded. “Yeah. She said you could borrow it.”

  “Great, thanks,” Ryan said. “Can you bring it over today with the CD from your dad?”

  “Why do you need it today?” Mia asked. “Don’t the mice have to learn the maze before they listen to the music?”

  “Yeah, but . . .” Ryan thought for a second. “My mom is baking chocolate chip cookies today.”

  Mia’s face immediately brightened. “I love chocolate chip cookies!” she exclaimed. “Save me one, okay?”

  “Okay, great, ” Ryan said, letting out a sigh of relief.

  Ryan called right after Kyle got home from school that afternoon.

  “I think there’s something wrong with Heavy Metal,” Ryan said, sounding nervous. “He’s lying on his on his back, and his legs keep twitching.”

  “He’s probably just sleeping,” Kyle said. “Mice take naps during the day and play at night.”

  “I know you’re busy, but can you come over to check?” Ryan asked. “I’m really worried.”

  Kyle sighed. He really needed to work on his own experiment. Otherwise it’d never get done. But Ryan seemed upset. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

  As soon as Ryan hung up, Kyle called Mia. “I’m pretty sure everything is fine with the mouse,” he said, “but Ryan seems really worried.”

  Mia hurried next door to Kyle’s house and they headed to Ryan’s together.

  “Have you decided how to do your experiment?” Mia asked as they walked.

  Kyle nodded. “I need to find a home-run hitter, someone who’s an average hitter, and somebody who’s not very good,” he said. “Then I’ll have them all hit with a wooden bat and a metal bat and measure how far the ball goes. Do they make super-long measuring tapes?”

  “I don’t know,” Mia said. “Why don’t you use the football field at school? It already has ten-yard lines marked off.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Kyle said with a grin.

  When they got to Ryan’s house, his mom let them in and sent them to Ryan’s room. Ryan was sitting at his desk, staring into the mouse cage. All three mice were awake and busy.

  “They look fine to me,” Kyle said.

  “They are,” Ryan admitted, looking a little embarrassed.

  “So what’s the problem?” Mia asked.

  Ryan sighed. “I’m afraid to pick them up,” he said quietly.

  Mouse on the Run

  Mia’s mouth fell open. “You’re afraid of mice?” she asked. “Why?”

  “Not really afraid,” Ryan said. “It’s just that they’re so tiny! I don’t want to squash them.”

  “We can fix that,” Kyle said. “Maybe if we help you play with them it’ll help.”

  “I hope so,” Ryan said. “I have to move them a lot for my experiment.”

  Kyle opened the cage, and the mouse with a black spot on its head scurried into a corner. Kyle reached in and trapped it under his cupped hand. “Which one is this?” he asked.

  “That’s Classical,” Ryan told him.

  Kyle carefully slipped his other hand under the mouse and lifted it out of the cage. He sat on the bed with the mouse trapped in his hands. Classical squirmed around inside.

  “Is he trying to get away?” Ryan asked.

  “No,” Kyle said. “He’s sniffing my hand.” After a moment, Kyle mo
ved his thumb. The mouse could look out, but he couldn’t escape.

  Mia captured the mouse with the big, black splotch on its back.

  “That’s Mouse,” Ryan said.

  “Hi, little guy!” Mia said. She held Mouse up to her cheek and giggled. “His nose tickles!”

  “Your turn, Ryan,” Kyle said.

  Ryan peered into the cage. Only Heavy Metal, the black mouse with the white spot, remained in the cage. He sat up and stared at Ryan. Kyle could almost hear the mouse thinking, Bet you can’t catch me!

  Ryan took a deep breath and reached into the cage. The mouse scampered away twice from his cupped hands before Ryan finally managed to catch him.

  Ryan sat down cross-legged between Kyle and Mia, holding the mouse in his hands.

  “What if he bites?” Ryan asked. He looked really worried.

  “He won’t,” Mia reassured him. “Don’t worry. Mice are really friendly animals. They don’t bite people unless they’re afraid for their lives.”

  “He’s scratching my hand!” Ryan exclaimed. He instantly let go of the mouse. “Oops!”

  Heavy Metal dropped onto the bed. He sat up, wiggled his nose, and then ran up the inside of Ryan’s pant leg.

  “Ahh! Ahh!” Ryan squealed and shook his leg.

  “Don’t move!” Mia ordered. “You might hurt him!”

  “I can’t help it! All those little mouse feet feel really creepy!” Ryan stopped moving and gritted his teeth. “He’s sniffing out a good spot to nibble!”

  “He’s looking for a way out,” Kyle said. “Sit still.”

  Ryan stiffened and squeezed his eyes shut. A minute later, Heavy Metal crawled out of his pant leg. Ryan laughed and picked him up.

  “You’re a bad mouse,” Ryan said. He sounded stern, but he was grinning. And he was holding the mouse with no problem.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” Ryan said as they put the mice back in the cage. “Maybe my experiment will be okay after all!”

  “Where’s the maze?” Kyle asked.

  “It’s in the garage,” Ryan said. “We’ll move it into my room when it’s finished. Do you want to see it?”