"I'm off to the shops!" said the little brown mouse,
Closing the door of his little brown house.
"I need to buy crumpets, eggs and sultanas
Biscuits and cornflakes, rice and bananas,
Then after the shopping there's cleaning to do,
And after the cleaning, the dentist's at two,
Then after the dentist's it's back home to . . ." Whump!
What a bump! Mouse fell down with a thump!
"What's that on the ground there? Hmm, what have we here?"
Said a big booming voice in his little mouse ear.
Next thing he knew, to his widest surprise
He was staring right into the goggly eyes
Of a big ugly troll with a nobbly nose,
Fat sausage fingers and long hairy toes.
"I'm hungry," the troll said, "and now I've found you!
I'll take you back home and I'll make a Mouse Stew.
I've had my elevenses, breakfast and lunch
But I'm hungry again. I need something to munch!"
Away marched the troll, swinging Mouse by the tail.
The poor little mouse! He let out a wail,
"I've really no time to get put in a stew
On a day like today when there's so much to do:
The shopping, the cleaning, the dentist's at two!"
But Mouse wasn't beaten, he had an idea,
"Hey, Troll!" he shouted, "Hey Troll, listen here!
It's your lucky day, Troll, you have in your hand
The greatest Mouse Stew Chef in the land!
My Mouse Stew's the best, it's never been beaten,
It's better than anything you've ever eaten
Come closer, Troll, let me tell you something,
Last Wednesday, I made my Mouse Stew for the King!
Stew fit for a King! Wouldn't you like to taste it?
This is your chance, my dear Troll, don't you waste it!"
"Hmmm," said the troll, a little suspicious,
"This famous Mouse Stew . . . it does sound delicious.
Okay," boomed the troll, "It really sounds yummy.
Let's make a Mouse Stew to fill up my tummy!"
"Great!" said the mouse, "Troll, you won't regret it,
When you taste my Mouse Stew, you'll never forget it!
I'll stand on your shoulder, let's get up some speed
We're off to the shops now to buy what we need."
Troll wasted no time. He started to jog.
"I'm hungry enough to eat a whole dog!"
He pulled out a trolley and off that troll flew
To buy the ingredients that go in Mouse Stew:
"A handful of those, a bunch of these,
A couple of those over there, Troll, please."
When they had all they needed, the troll went and paid,
"Let's get this lot home. There's a stew to be made!"
The troll bounded off with a jump and a leap,
"I'm hungry enough to eat a whole sheep!"
"Let's cook!" said the mouse. "Let's make a Mouse Stew!
We'll wash our hands first, though like all good cooks do.
Let's use this big pot, now what else do we need?
Carrots and parsnips, turnips and swede.
I've washed them and scrubbed them, they're ready to peel.
Did I mention Mouse Stew is the King's favourite meal?
Now they're all chopped, they can go in the pot,
Watch out for your fingers! Remember it's hot.
You're hungry, I hope, Troll?" The troll said, "Of course!
I'm hungry enough to eat a whole horse!"
"This stew will be ready in less than an hour.
You start on the dumplings, please, mix up some flour,
Some salt and some butter. Oh, isn't this fun!
And roll into balls and now we're almost done."
"Almost done?" said the troll, "Oh thank goodness for that.
I'm hungry enough to eat a whole cat."
"Just cook in the oven. It's going to be great.
For twenty-five minutes. I hope you can wait.
Let's clean up this kitchen, Troll what do you say?
You do the dishes, I'll put things away."
Troll grumbled, "It's got to be ready by now.
I'm hungry enough to eat a whole cow!"
"Okay, Troll, it's ready," the brown mouse replied.
"I bet it's the best Mouse Stew you've ever tried."
The mouse tied a napkin beneath the troll's chin.
"It's time to eat, Troll. Here's a spoon. Tuck in!"
Troll took a mouthful. He let out a sigh.
He closed both his eyes. "Oh wow! Oh my!
Oh gosh! It's delicious!" Mouse heard the troll say
As he softly and quietly tiptoed away.
The mouse hurried home to his little brown house.
"Well, I suppose . . ." said the little brown mouse,
"If it's made by a mouse, then it's still a Mouse Stew,
There's just no mouse in it, but what can you do?
I've really no time to get put in a stew,
On a day like today when there's so much to do:
The shopping, the cleaning, the dentist's at two. . ."
Original illustrations by Sringkhala, whose enchanting artwork you can view at Artlucina.com â¤ï¸
Short teaser film animated and modelled by Penny Nam ð
Please comment and vote if you liked it âï¸ I love reading your comments ð¬
Thank you for reading the Wattys 2016 Visual Storytelling winner: Mouse Stew ð
I hope you enjoy the other stories in this book and why not check out Will There be a Unicorn? as well. I'm updating that one on a semi-regular basis.
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