amos the churchmouse: amos encounters a snowstorm

amos the churchmouse:

a view from under the pew

Editor’s note: Amos is a churchmouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard, but he can’t operate the capital shift keys, and he shuns punctuation marks – except hyphens and dashes.

amos encounters a snowstorm

it had been a beautiful

week boss and i was just

walking down the sidewalk

minding my own business

when all of a sudden my

whiskers started shivering

snowflakes started sticking

to my eyelashes a cold icy

wind started whipping

through my brown fur and

icicles started forming in

a row on my tail let me tell

ya boss it was cold

it reminds me of the winter

of nineteen-eighteen said

crotchety old tommy

turtle sr now that was a

cold spell he said all the

beetles took the flu

cats froze to death in the

alleyways

maybe it could happen

again said willifred the

white rat with something

of a gleam in his eye

oh it wasn t only the cats

said old mr turtle

mice and rats died in bunches

gathered around dried-up bits

of cheese cows froze in

twelve-foot snowdrifts

goldfish and catfish were

preserved in solid blocks of

ice in stock tanks all over the

country

that sounds awful says i

it was nodded the wrinkled

old turtle solemnly

but how did you survive it

all asked freddie the flea

it wasn t easy i tell ye

the old turtle replied

i thought sure i was gonna

die but i prayed and i prayed

then i saw a hobo s fire near

the frozen railroad track so i

hurried as fast as my little

frozen feet and my little

ice-covered shell could

carry me said he

when i got there the hoboes

welcomed me to their warm

little fire they were so kind

and nice to me

i thought this is great

they invited me to supper so i

said sure why not

but when i asked what they

were having to eat they said

turtle soup and grinned this

wicked little grin

so what did you do says i

certain that i was catching

the flu

well i thought sure i was

gonna die but i prayed and i

prayed

i tried to run away but you

know how fast we turtles

are