Needle in the Haystack

In a dark dingy corner of the old farmer’s barn lived Needle, the mouse, with his family. Bucky and Hazel, his parents, and six brothers and sisters huddled together in their cozy nest.

Needle was the youngest and the cheekiest of all his siblings, often scampering off on his own all over the barn. He delighted in causing chaos wherever he went. The oldest brothers, Stretch and Chubs, would often try to show him the safe way to creep past the old farmer without being noticed, but Needle enjoyed surprising the farmer by leaping onto his trousers causing him to jump about.

When Silky and Feathers, his sisters, were tidying and cleaning the family home, Needle liked to race through with muddy feet leaving a trail of dirt and two angry mice behind him.

Out in the pigsty and the sheep pen, Needle became a nuisance as he crawled over the piglets and lambs creating an outcry of upset mothers trying to console their distraught young. The horse in the stable was also fair game. He would pull on the end of the horse’s tail just enough to make the horse swish its tail. And he would keep pulling and the horse would keep swishing until it could take it no longer and buck and neigh attempting to squish the little offender.

One evening the animals had enough of Needle’s mischievous ways and decided they would capture him and avenge all the pain he had caused them. They hatched a plan to entice him into the farmer’s workshop and set a trap in an empty paint tin where the sheep dog, Skip, was ready to shut the lid.

Needle was exploring the old rusty tractor when he saw two rabbits hopping past. They were talking quietly to each other. “Did you see what the farmer put in that old tin today?” said one rabbit. “I saw him go in there but didn’t see what he had,” said the other. “You should really take a look. I think it would be a delicious treat. Let’s wait until everyone is asleep so we can have it just for us.”

Needles curiosity was piqued, and he immediately scurried off to the workshop. He saw the tin on the ground with the lid partly open. He looked around the room and couldn’t see any other animals nearby, so he tiptoed right up to the tin. Little did he know that all the barn animals, except his own family as they knew nothing of this plot, were sneakily watching from afar. Skip, the sheepdog, was ready to pounce as soon as Needle crawled into the tin. Everyone held their breath as Needle began to climb….”Needle!!!!” came a shout from above. “Stop! It’s a trap!” yelled Dash, Needle’s brother.

He stopped in his tracks and saw the shadow of Skip as he leapt to catch Needle. All of a sudden there was chaos as the animals came out and tried to get hold of the little mouse. Needle zipped between hooves and claws, dodging wings and beaks trying to find an escape from the melee. He was chased around the barn until he saw the bales of hay. He sprinted into the hay and found a hiding spot to catch his breath.

Bucky and Hazel, Needle’s parents approached the other animals and demanded an explanation. “Your son has tormented us long enough! We want him punished!” screamed the cow. A roar of agreement echoed throughout the barn.

“Where is my brother?” questioned Spunky.

“Needle is in the haystack!”

“We’ll never find him in there!” bleated the lambs.

Hazel spoke up to urge the animals to retreat. “Please allow us to deal with Needle and make amends for all the hurt he has brought upon you. I promise you; he will be severely disciplined.”

Bucky and his sons began scouring the haystack for signs of Needle. It took hours of burrowing and sifting before they found the frightened little mouse curled up between the strands of straw and took him home.

It was a few days before Needle emerged from the nest. After a stern talking to by his parents, and grumbles from his siblings, he was confined to the family home unless accompanied by a parent until he had made restitution for all his misdeeds. And that’s exactly what he did.

Needle became the most helpful mouse in the barn. He showed more care to his fellow animals and even took over the cleaning of the nest for his sisters.