"Danny, we've talked about this. You can't have a dog until you can prove that you can take care of it. An apartment really isn't the right place for one anyway."
Danny put the bright blue leash back on the shelf, and sighed. "I know I'd be able to do a great job of taking care of a dog. I'd never forget to feed or walk him, Mom."
She stopped in front of a shelf filled with aquarium decorations and fish food. "That may be true. But for now you'll just have to be satisfied with your goldfish."
Danny nodded. "I'll find a way to prove myself."
Mom selected a small ceramic castle, and a large container of fish food. "I have no doubt about that. How would you like a little saltwater tank, like mine but smaller?"
Danny scrunched up his nose. "More fish?"
Mom frowned. "Don't you like them?"
Danny looked towards the tanks full of fish, some as large as his hand. "They're nice to look at, but I can't do anything with them. They can't play, and I can't even hold them."
Mom sighed. "We'll talk about it when you're older..."
Danny glanced back at the dog supplies, and shuffled along. The conversation was over, and he had lost the debate. Again.
They walked home in silence. Mom's steps were purposeful, and there was a spring in her step. Danny shuffled along behind.
When they got home, Dad was kneeling beside the refrigerator.
"What's wrong?" asked Mom.
Dad held up a long, flat strip. "The cereal box has a mouse sized hole in it, and there's cereal all over the cupboard. These should take care of it."
Danny walked over, and looked at the strip. "What do they do?"
Dad peeled off a piece of paper. "The mouse steps on it, and gets stuck."
Danny touched the strip, and had to pull hard to release his finger. "Then what?"
Dad set the strip behind the refrigerator. "Then we throw it in the trash."
Danny gasped. "But that's awful! You wouldn't really do that, would you?"
Dad looked at Mom, and she gently led him into the living room. "Danny, sometimes we have to do unpleasant things. This mouse might be sick, and it's getting into our food. It could make us very sick. I promise, we won't let it suffer."
He looked at his feet. "May I please go to my room?"
Mom nodded. "Don't forget to feed your fish. And be sure to wash up before supper."
Danny closed the door to his room, then sprinkled a little of the flaky fish food into the tank. "I can't believe they're going to kill it. It didn't hurt anything!"
He picked up a book. The shiny black puppy on the cover was doing a play bow, seemingly to invite him to join in a merry game of chase. "I wish I could have a puppy. Any puppy. I'd teach him so many tricks."
Before he finished his book, Danny heard a soft rustling coming from his bottom dresser drawer. He quietly got up, and tiptoed over to it. "I wonder..."
He opened it up, slowly and carefully. "Uh oh. You shredded my new notebook paper," he whispered to the empty drawer with the small round hole in the bottom.
After everyone was asleep, Danny crept into the kitchen. He found the tall, large pot Mom used for boiling potatoes in every Thanksgiving, and took it into his room.
He set it next to his bed, and dropped a little piece of a leftover candy bar in the pot. "That should hold you. But how are you going to get in?"
He scratched his head. "I know!"
He made a set of stairs using his books.
Then he went to bed. "I hope this works..."
The next thing he knew, he heard hollow thunking noises. He yawned. "What is that?"
Danny's eyes flew open. "It worked!"
He grabbed the small container he used for holding his fish while cleaning the tank. "I'll need a lid..."
He looked under his bed. "This shoebox should do for now."
He poked little holes in the bottom of it, then went over to the pot.
A little white mouse was frantically trying to jump out, its tiny feet leaving chocolate stains on the sides of the pot.
Danny took the shoebox and its lid, and gently guided the mouse into it. He put the lid on, and quickly transferred the little creature into the container. He put the bottom of the cardboard box over it. "I'll have to find a better lid, and fast."
The mouse was huddled in a corner, whiskers twitching furiously.
"Don't worry, you're safe now, little Twitchy. I'm going to take good care of you," whispered Danny.
He took the pot into the bathroom, and cleaned it as quietly as possible before returning it to the kitchen. While there, he grabbed the cheese grater to use for a lid. "Mom would throw a fit if she knew," he thought, grinning.
Over the next couple of weeks, Danny patiently gained the trust of his new pet. Then he taught him almost all of the tricks he'd dreamt of teaching his dog. He also stopped asking for a dog.
"I bet you could ride in this van. Would you like that, Twitchy?" he asked, placing the little toy on his dresser.
Soon Twitchy was eagerly jumping into it and even learned how to use the little steering wheel as Danny pushed the bus from behind.
One day Twitchy's container was sitting on the coffee table when he arrived home from school. Mom sat on the couch, scowling.
"I went in to get your blankets today, so I could wash them. Care to explain yourself?"
Danny hung his head. "Sorry, Mom. I just didn't want you to kill him."
Danny gently took the little mouse out, and set him on the smooth glass tabletop.
After he performed his tricks, Danny returned him to his container. "Please don't hurt him? He didn't do anything wrong."
Mom sighed. "I wasn't planning to hurt him. And I can see that you've taken good care of him. This isn't a wild mouse, so I'm not too worried about it being sick. It obviously escaped from someone else in the building. Probably the guy a few doors down with the snake..."
They both looked at Twitch, and Mom shivered. "Poor little guy."
Danny grinned. "Then I can keep him?"
Mom scowled. "I said he isn't a wild mouse. But you didn't know that. You took an awful risk. How can I reward that?"
Danny's eyes became moist. He picked up the cage. "You can't. Maybe I can find him a really good home."
Mom shook her head. "I have a better idea. You seemed so determined to prove you could take care of a dog. What you showed me is that you aren't responsible enough yet. You see that mouse in there? I want you to give it the best care in the history of pet mice. Starting with a proper cage, which will come out of your allowance. Do we understand each other?"
Danny put the cage back on the table, and jumped up to hug Mom. "Oh, Mom! Thank you so much!"
Mom held him. "I'm not rewarding you, Danny. You should have told me as soon as you caught it. But if you promise never to keep something like this from me again, I won't punish you. How did you manage to catch it, anyway?"
Danny blushed, remembering the pot. "I got lucky..."