Aesop's Untold Fable: Man Versus Mouse

I'm still chuckling as I write this.... and it happened a week ago!

We (meaning Joe... of course... critters are his area of specialization) caught a mouse in the garage way back in March.  Better the garage than the house, of course, but EEEW.

Upon making the discovery, I immediately channeled my mother, explaining in near hysterics that "there is never just ONE mouse."

"MORE TRAPS," I demanded while scouring corners and closets for any signs of guests.

That was two months ago. Two months and probably five dollars worth of organic peanut butter, and even a little nutella when we ran out at one point, stolen from our cupboard to refill traps. You see, we learned some time ago that peanut butter is better bait than cheese.

The tricky little buggers kept stealing the peanut butter clean off the traps.

Every morning Joe would check the three traps in the garage. Every morning, they were empty. His frustration was palpable. Meanwhile I eyed our shrinking woodpile suspiciously and began having nightly fires in the fireplace.

Then, last week, Joe came home from work early so I could dash off for a check up. He checked the traps and what he saw still has us laughing. And perhaps groaning over a hard-fought battle that turned out so unnecessary.

A pile of ants was working vigorously to clear away all that peanut butter.

No wonder he never caught a mouse. And perhaps, just this once, there was simply ONE mouse to be caught. Now we're off to buy some ant traps instead. Good Grief!!