Make a Difference

by Sarah Dillard

  Olive, The Great Peacemaker: Throughout the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the mice of Left Meadow were engaged in a conflict with squirrels and chipmunks over who could claim rights to the seeds spilled by careless birds at feeders. It took the courage of a strong leader and lifelong Mouse Scout, Olive, to broker a peace treaty. In 2003, after a series of meetings with the leaders of the chipmunk and squirrel nations—later referred to as the Seed Talks—an agreement was reached. It was decided that the first foot around the base of a bird feeder was for mice, the second foot in the perimeter for chipmunks, and the outer perimeter for squirrels.

  “We’re going to take care of the trash!” Tigerlily said. “We’ll make this park a place that everyone can enjoy without having to worry about being bombarded by litter.”

  “That’s perfect!’ said Cricket.

  “I guess it will make a difference,” Violet said. She still liked her basket idea better.

  Tigerlily puffed out her chest and prepared to take charge. “Everyone spread out and look for trash. Drag everything you find to the trash can. Be sure to pay attention to anything that we might be able to reuse or recycle, and set it in a separate pile. We’re going to clean up this place!”

  The Scouts scurried around the park in search of trash. They didn’t have to look very hard. Everywhere they went, they saw crumpled newspapers, plastic bags, greasy French fry containers, old socks, candy wrappers, potato chip bags, soda cans, and water bottles.

  Petunia found a dented soda can and dragged it to the trash pile. Some of the soda dripped onto her uniform. “Ewww!” she squeaked.

  Hyacinth found a paper cup and stuffed it with straws and wrappers that she picked up on her way to the trash pile.

  Junebug kicked a plastic water bottle across the park. “I’m not touching this with my bare hands,” she said. “It could be covered in contaminants.”

  Before long, the Scouts had made a large pile of trash next to the trash can.

  “Look at all of this,” said Junebug, pointing to a French fry container. “How do humans eat this stuff?”

  Cricket hid the French fry she was nibbling behind her back. “It’s not that bad, really.”

  “What a difference!” exclaimed Hyacinth a little while later. “I’ve never seen the park so clean!”

  “Yeah,” said Petunia. “It was filthy before.”

  “And very unhealthy,” said Junebug. “Trash is a breeding ground for disease.”

  “This was one of the easiest badges ever!” said Tigerlily. “We cleaned up the park, which makes a difference for everyone. Plus, I got some great stuff for my collection!” Tigerlily was especially excited about a roll of duct tape she had found under a bench. She had also found a chewed-up tennis ball, which was sure to be useful in one way or another.

  Violet stood proudly by the trash pile and admired the nice clean park. They really had made a difference. She could already imagine mouse families spending happy afternoons building tunnels in the sandbox or napping under the shade of the daisies. She couldn’t wait to go home and write about it in her “Make a Difference” logbook.

  Just then, a breeze lifted a paper straw wrapper from the top of the pile and floated it down to the ground. As Violet looked at the trash again, she realized that they weren’t quite done. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “All of that work was for nothing! We may have gathered the trash, but how are we going to get all of it into the can?”

  Your “Make a Difference” Logbook

  A fun way to keep track of the differences you make is to write them down! Keeping a daily logbook is easy once you get in the habit of it.

  To begin your “Make a Difference” logbook, find an empty notebook, or make one yourself using the handy instructions on the next page.

  1. Place a stack of lightweight paper between two pieces of heavy paper or poster board of the same size.

  2. Punch five holes in your stack using a hole punch or awl.

  3. Thread yarn through the holes.

  4. Tie in knots.

  Once you have your logbook, you can start recording the differences you are making. Each night before you go to bed, write the date at the top of the page and think of everything you did that might have made a difference, then write it down. Next to these items, you can make a note of how it made a difference and whom it made a difference to.

  After a week or so, look back at the entries in your logbook. You will be amazed at how many differences you can make!

  “Violet’s right. We need to figure out a way to get the trash into the trash can,” said Tigerlily.

  “We could try throwing things up there,” suggested Hyacinth. Even as she said it, Hyacinth did not sound convinced. “But none of us are probably strong enough. It would never work.”

  “If we could climb up the side of the trash can, we could carry things up one by one,” Petunia said. She took a running leap at the trash can, but it was too steep and too smooth to climb. She quickly slid to the ground.

  “If I had some rope, we could make a ladder and get the trash up there,” said Tigerlily.

  She grabbed some plastic grocery bags and started twisting them.

  When she had twisted three bags into strands, she began to braid the strands together to make a rope. It reminded Violet of the way she had made the handle for her grass clipping basket….

  “WAIT!” cried Violet. “I have an even better idea!”

  The Scouts stopped and stared at her. Violet gulped and her nose twitched.

  “Well?” said Hyacinth.

  “We could make a basket,” Violet squeaked.

  Tigerlily put her hands to her head and groaned. “What is it with you and baskets?”

  “Actually, it might work,” Junebug said. “A smaller container would be more accessible. In fact, we could even make the basket out of trash. We’ll twist the pieces together like Tigerlily’s rope. Imagine, a basket, made of trash. Holding trash. We would be taking care of the trash problem and recycling at the same time. It would be something worthy of the Mouse Scout Monthly!”

  “If that doesn’t make a difference, I don’t know what will,” Cricket agreed.

  Violet beamed.

  Hyacinth and Petunia gathered all the plastic grocery bags, potato chip bags, and candy wrappers from the pile and set them aside, while Tigerlily and Cricket got to work braiding them into ropes.

  As the pile of ropes grew, Violet took three long lengths of rope and laid them down in a star shape. She then took a fourth rope and began to weave it over and under the other three ropes.

  Violet kept weaving until the base was as wide as four mice lying down end to end. Then the Scouts built up the sides. When the basket was mouse high, Violet climbed on Cricket’s shoulders and kept weaving. Only when she couldn’t reach any higher did they decide the basket was done.

  The Scouts stood back and admired their basket. For something made out of trash, it was a thing of beauty. Violet had never felt so proud. Even Tigerlily was impressed. “Now that’s a trash basket,” she giggled.

  Tigerlily climbed up the side of the basket and stood on the rim. The Scouts began to pass her the remaining trash piece by piece. Hyacinth and Petunia jumped up and down on the soda cans and water bottles to flatten them, and Cricket and Violet lifted them up to Tigerlily. Junebug raked the area around the trash basket with a plastic fork and then handed the fork to Tigerlily. When they were done, the basket was full and there wasn’t a piece of trash to be seen anywhere.

  But the Scouts weren’t the only ones admiring their work. From underneath the bush he’d been napping in, a big red cat looked on with interest. Now that the trash had been picked up, he had a better view of the Mouse Scouts. The cat licked his lips and purred.

  How to Make a Basket

  Imagine creating something that is both useful and beautiful from materials that you gather yourself! Making baskets from grass clippings or other found objects, such as flower stems or scraps of fabric, is easy onc
e you know how. Follow the simple step-by-step guide below.

  1. Gather your materials and, if necessary, braid or twist them to create lengths of rope.

  2. Lay out three lengths of rope, crossing them in the middle. They will look like a six-armed star.

  3. Starting in the center of your star, take another length of rope and weave it over and under the six arms, going around once as tightly as you can.

  4. Next, insert a new length of rope into the center, so that your star has seven arms. An odd number of arms will help the basket hold its shape.

  5. Continue to weave over and under the seven arms as tightly as possible to form the base of your basket. When you need to add a new length of rope, tuck the end of the piece you have been working with into the woven part, then insert the new rope in the same place.

  6. When your base is the size that you want it to be, fold up the arms to create the sides.

  7. Continue weaving until your basket has reached the height you want it to be.

  8. Bend the arms over, one by one, and weave them into the top edge of the basket, creating a brim.

  9. To create a handle, braid three lengths of rope together. Poke one end of the braid into the top of the basket and weave it in and out of your basket to the bottom so that it is secure. Repeat with the other end of the braid on the far side of the basket to form a handle.

  Your finished basket will be something you will use forever. It would also make a lovely gift for a family member.

  The next day, Violet skipped down the sidewalk. She was excited to get to her Mouse Scout meeting. Now that their “Make a Difference” project was done, the Scouts would receive their badges. She couldn’t wait to sew the new badge onto her sash.

  On her way to the school, Violet stopped at Tigerlily’s house. She found her friend sitting in the chewed-up tennis ball she had discovered in the park. Tigerlily had rigged it with some twine, so that the ball was hanging from the porch rail. As Violet watched, Tigerlily pulled on the twine, and the tennis ball seat moved up!

  “Hey, Violet! Look, I made an elevator!” Tigerlily called. “Want to try it?”

  Violet did not. The twine didn’t look very strong and the tennis ball looked tippy. She was surprised Tigerlily hadn’t fallen out of it yet.

  “I don’t think so,” Violet said. “I’m going to check on the trash basket before our meeting. We may need to pick up some more trash while we’re there. Do you want to join me?”

  Tigerlily thought about it. She was having fun, but the chance to find more treasures in the park was too good to pass up. She was hoping to find an old shoe that she could turn into a clubhouse. “Okay,” she said, hopping out of her elevator.

  As they neared the park, a Popsicle wrapper blew toward Violet. “I knew we’d find more trash,” she said as she grabbed it. Then a crumpled potato chip bag nearly knocked her off her feet.

  Next a bottle cap flew by and Tigerlily caught it like a Frisbee. “Hey!” she cried. “What is going on?”

  “Look!” said Violet, pointing. A squirrel was sitting on top of their basket, throwing pieces of trash this way and that.

  When the squirrel noticed Violet and Tigerlily, he gave a high-pitched laugh and started throwing popcorn at them.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Violet. “Squirrels scare me. They’re not very nice and they’re twice our size.”

  “No!” said Tigerlily. “I’m going to give that squirrel a piece of my mind. Just because he’s bigger than us doesn’t mean he can get away with ruining our ‘Make a Difference.’ ”

  Tigerlily took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips, and marched up to the trash basket. The squirrel looked down at her and laughed some more.

  “We worked really hard to collect all that trash, squirrel, so you’d better get out of that trash can.”

  “Or else?” said the squirrel as he tried a sock on his head.

  “Or else I’ll…” But Tigerlily had no idea what the “or else” was. “I’ll…,” she started again. The squirrel leaned forward until his nose was inches away from Tigerlily.

  “What can a little mouse do to me?” he giggled.

  “I’ll show you, you big…meanie!” Tigerlily couldn’t believe she had said something so stupid. “I mean, you big…” But the squirrel had suddenly lost interest in Tigerlily’s scolding. He was staring at something over her head.

  Tigerlily turned around to see what could be so interesting. It was a cat. And not just any cat, but Big Red—the largest, meanest cat in the neighborhood. And Big Red was slowly creeping up behind Violet…and he looked ready to pounce.

  “Violet!! CAT!” Tigerlily yelled.

  “CAT?” Violet was puzzled. This did not seem to be the time for that particular Mouse Scout motto. “How can you expect me to be Cheerful at a time like this?”

  Violet looked around and found herself face to face with Big Red. “Uh-oh.” She gulped. Big Red looked at Violet and stretched out his paw.

  “VIOLET!” Tigerlily drew her emergency whistle to her mouth. PHWEEEET!!! “RUN!”

  When Big Red heard the whistle, he looked toward Tigerlily and the squirrel. And when he saw the squirrel, he lost all interest in Violet.

  “SQUIRREL!” growled Big Red.

  As for the squirrel, he dropped the sock and ran for the nearest tree. Big Red bolted after him, knocking Tigerlily down as he ran by.

  Tigerlily sat stunned on the ground.

  “Are you okay?” Violet asked.

  “I think so.” Tigerlily rubbed her head and looked around. “But our trash basket isn’t.”

  “Oh no!” Violet cried. Some of the trash that made up the basket had come loose, and most of the trash that had been in the basket was scattered all over the ground.

  Tigerlily sighed and stood up. She dusted off her uniform and slowly started gathering trash. Violet made repairs to the basket and then helped Tigerlily.

  “I think that does it,” Tigerlily said, dropping one last candy wrapper into the trash basket.

  “And just in time,” said Violet. “If we leave right now, we might still make it to the Mouse Scout meeting without being late.”

  But as they turned to go, they heard a loud, horrible yowl from high above their heads.

  Cat Safety

  Cats are natural predators of mice. It is best to avoid them whenever possible. They cannot be reasoned with, and they are stubborn, willful, and unpredictable in temper. Cats who are used to being outdoors are especially threatening because they have honed lightning-fast reactions hunting birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. But mouse is their preferred delicacy.

  Luckily, there are many ways that a mouse can outsmart a cat. If you come across a cat inside and are unable to duck into a mousehole, try running in tight, fast circles. The cat will at first be so mesmerized it will not attack. It will then become confused and slightly dizzy. Take this opportunity to dash under the lowest piece of furniture you can find, and then carefully make your way to the nearest mousehole.

  If for some reason you cannot run in a circle, try standing as still as a statue. Although cats have an astonishing ability to stare, transfixed, at something for hours, eventually even they will lose interest and walk away.

  If you are outside, head for a stream, a puddle, or any body of water. Most cats do not like water. If there is no water nearby, duck into a chipmunk hole. This is not entirely desirable, as chipmunks rarely welcome unexpected visitors. However, once you have explained the purpose of your visit, the chipmunk will understand. Rodents usually bond together over their distrust of cats.

  “What is that?” Tigerlily asked. There was another yowl, followed by a sad little sob.

  “It sounds like someone is hurt,” Violet said.

  Violet and Tigerlily looked up. Big Red was clinging to a branch high in the tree, holding on as hard as he could. He didn’t look very mean anymore.

  In fact, he looked like a scared and helpless kitten.

  Violet thought he e
ven looked a tiny bit cute. From a distance, at least.

  “Help me!” Big Red cried. “Somebody HELP ME!”