LILLY BOOK PROOF ONLY by tripspublications

A House for Lilly Mouse

Written & Illustrated

by Barbara Browning

Barbara Browning, author and illustrator

ISBN 978-1-7357033-5-0

This book has very minimal editing to allow for the story to retain the author’s personal style.

Published by Michelle Banse Stokes Trips Publications, LLC 406 W. Main Street, Ste. 105 Weimar, Texas 78962 979-725-3080 • tripspublications.com

Printed with ????

Chapter One - Looking for a House

One morning when the world was just waking up, a little mouse named Lilly hurried along the forest floor. Birds and other forest creatures were stirring, but Lilly didn’t take time to notice them. She was on an important mission! Today was a BIG day, the day she hoped to find a new home!

Now, Lilly’s friends all knew that she already had a home. She lived with her family in a tiny room under a root of the big tree next door to Perkins’ farm. There lived Mother, Father and ten children, of which Lilly was the oldest.

For weeks she had been telling her parents that their home was too small. “Mom and Dad, I am too big to live with you. I am grown up. I should have a home of my own.” Just yesterday they had finally decided she was right. She pushed her hat, which was flopping by its ribbons, back into place, and resolved once more to hurry. “I only have a short time to look. What if they change their minds?”

So, this morning a long time before the sun woke up, Lilly awakened, quietly made her bed and packed a small lunch. On a large leaf taken from Mother’s desk, she scrawled a note which said, “Dear Mom and Dad, I have decided to go and look for my new house today. Don’t worry. I will be home by dark. Love, your daughter, Lilly Mouse.”

Now, at this moment she had already been walking a while when she saw a toadstool up ahead just off the path. “Ah! Time for a morning break!” she declared. Leaving the path, she clambered up on the toadstool to rest her feet and think. Actually, there was a lot to think about and Lilly was a thinker.

Suddenly, she realized that something in her heart felt wrong. She had loved growing up in her home, but now the house seemed too small. There was only one bathtub, and no one had a place to keep their things. Every night someone could be heard yelling, “Who took my toothbrush?”

As the toadstool was squishy and comfortable, it allowed Lilly to continue thinking. “Why, there’s not even enough room for everyone to sit down for dinner,” she muttered under her breath. “Someone is always falling off the bench at one end or the other!” Other memories began to come of her brothers and sisters tickling and punching one another as Mother Mouse tried to keep order. Lilly always had to help clean up the milk spills. She didn’t mind helping her mother, but she longed for a home that was neat and tidy, with everything in its place and a place for everything. “Oh, for a home of my own!” she said for the hundredth time.

Actually, Lilly was always helping. Except for Mother and Father, no one but Lilly ever picked up their dirty clothes or washed out the tub after their bath. “I will be happy in my new home,” she told herself, “but what about my family? Who will help Mother and Father? Oh, dear!” she sighed.

“How will I ever get to the bottom of this? What is best for everyone? I must keep thinking!” As she closed her eyes and thought harder, another memory came to her. It had happened last Sunday as everyone was getting ready to go for a picnic. Mother was fastening buttons. Father was combing hair, and Lilly was tying nine pairs of shoes, everyone’s but her own!

“Wow, those rascals were all laughing at me and tickling each other as usual. They weren’t helping one bit! No one was even trying to tie their own shoes. Hmmph!” she snorted. “I can’t believe those lazy mousers depend on me to tie their shoes every day.” But then her anger passed as she recalled that three of them really did need help.”

“Hmmm, something here needs fixing.” Once more, she closed her eyes and tried to think harder. Then, it hit her. “That’s it! This is their chance to grow up, too. If I leave home, they will ALL have to grow up and become helpers themselves! Problem solved!”

At that moment, Lilly came to herself and realized that she was still on the toadstool. “My goodness! I must get going!” she exclaimed.

It was then, however, as she looked at the narrow path ahead, that a small fear came over her. “Why, I have never even been in the forest by myself! What if I get lost?” She was almost tempted to sit down again, but Lilly was actually a very brave mouse.

She had faced danger before. Once she and Mother had been out gathering food for dinner when a large owl swooped down and tried to grab them for his own dinner. “Don’t stop to think now, Lilly,” her mother had told her. “Just keep going and we will be alright.”

So, looking up into the morning sky, Lilly prayed, “Please Heavenly Father, help me find a house for this little mouse!” Somewhere above a redbird’s cheerful trill echoed down and brought courage. With that, Lilly began her journey.

Chapter Two - Finding a Home

Several hours later, Lilly had trudged through lots of spikey grass and rocky mounds, but so far nothing suitable for her new home had appeared.

Just as she was beginning to feel very tired, she spied a large flat rock nearby in a patch of shade. It was nestled in a clump of soft grass beside a small pool of water that looked very inviting. She could even see a small fish swimming happily back and forth in the pool. Without hesitating, Lilly took off her shoes and socks and dangled her hurting feet in the pond.

A few moments later a redbird, perhaps the same one she saw earlier, alighted on one of the rocks next to the pool. “Oh, hello friend,” Lilly said. “This water feels so good. Would you like to join me?” With that, she took off her hat, laid back on the rock and drifted off to sleep. Sometime later the chirp of evening crickets woke her up. “Golly, I’d better be going. There can’t be much daylight left.”

As she scrambled to put on her shoes and socks, Lilly realized her new feathered friend was still there. “Why, hello! Perhaps you would like to go with me. Do you mind if I call you Red?”

Lilly didn’t really wait for Red to answer, but somehow she felt sure he liked his new name. She stood up and took a long look at her nearby surroundings. The sun was shining from a different angle now and Lilly saw something she had not seen before.

On the other side of the pond, a short distance from her napping rock, there was a path leading toward a very large oak tree. At the base of the tree there seemed to be a hole that was almost hidden by a scraggly bush. “What is that?” she said as she strained to get a better look.

Sure enough, as her eye followed the little path over the nearest knoll and down the other side, she could see that it ended in front of a small, carved door in the base of the tree. “Oh my!” she whispered. “Could that be my new home?”

In less than a minute’s time, Lilly had crossed over the pond and was headed to the other side. She could feel her heart pounding as she reached the old tree. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she gazed at the little secluded area in which she was now standing, shielded from view by the scraggly tree. “What a cozy space! I love it!”

The door itself was very old and dirty, but the charming window carved above the latch was perfect, if only a bit too high. “Oh dear!” Lilly sighed as she stood on tiptoe. “I am just a little too short!” Then, thinking quickly, she dragged a large rock over to the door and stood on it. In no time her eyes adjusted to the gloomy darkness inside. “Look! Someone has lived here before. They left some things. Oh my!” she said again.

Then surprisingly, Red chose that moment to fly over to perch on Lilly’s shoulder. “Oh, you want to look too,” she laughed. Together they pressed their faces against the window to get a better look.

Amazingly, it was a very nice-sized room with a high ceiling. Dirt floors and walls made from the inner wood of the tree made it look very snug. “Perfect,” Lilly whispered under her breath.

Piles of trash were everywhere. Over in the corner some old match boxes and spools of rotted thread were piled high. Then Lilly saw it - an ancient porcelain dish, shaped like a doll-sized bathtub lay almost buried in another corner.

“Eureka!” Lilly shouted. “A bathtub! I am home!” She gathered her courage and pressed the door open. At first it seemed stuck, but after repeated tries, it gave a little squeak and opened. She took a step inside and looked around cautiously. The air was musty, and a few spiders could be seen crawling to escape the sunshine coming through the window.

“Why this is not too bad!” Lilly said aloud. With a satisfied chuckle, she rolled up her sleeves and began rearranging things.

Much later, Lilly carefully closed the door of her new home, and left to return to her family. She had some packing to do! Perhaps Mother would let her borrow a few dishes and a blanket. The last of the sunlight had just disappeared when she arrived at Mother and Father’s house. “Lilly, where did you go? Did you find a new home for yourself?” everyone shouted. “Yes, dear. We were worried about you!” declared Mother Mouse. “Come sit down at the table and tell us everything while you have some dinner.”

As they sat down, Lilly quickly told the family everything. She told them about the toadstool, the napping rock and even her new friend, the redbird. When she got to the place in her story when she described her new home, everyone was amazed. No one except Petey knew what to say. “Mom, can I go live with her?” he asked. Mother Mouse laughed in spite of herself, and Father Mouse hid a smile. “No dear, you are not big enough yet, but someday perhaps you can.”

Chapter Three – A Place for Everything

The next morning everyone pitched in to help Lilly find things for her new house. Father Mouse lent her his wheelbarrow and Mother Mouse gave her some kitchen things. Lilly packed some of her prettiest dresses and, finally, all was ready. The wheelbarrow stood filled to the brim with many treasures and on the very top was a lovely cheese.

As the family lined up to say goodbye, Petey began to cry. “Why can’t I go too?” he begged. “Petey,” said Mother, “You have a lot of growing up to do. Lilly is old enough to go out in the world on her own. We must wait until she invites us to come for a visit.”

Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she said, ”You, Petey, could learn to tie your shoes so you will be ready to go when that happens!”

No one noticed Mother and Father were careful to hide their tears as Lilly pushed off with her wheelbarrow and disappeared from view.

Several hours later the sun was almost setting when Lilly arrived at her new home. She was so tired she could barely push the cart up to her front door, but she made herself grab the first bundle of things and carry them inside. Red, who had been resting on the cart twittering happily the whole time, left his perch and flew up into the bush by the door. “Oh, so you aren’t going to help? Never mind, little friend, you can keep watch.”

Stepping back into the dark underground room, Lilly took a moment to look around. “Ugh! This is awful!” she exclaimed as she sniffed the moldy air. “What was I thinking?” However, Lilly wasn’t one to be easily discouraged. She grabbed her broom and began sweeping furiously.

That evening, as she wearily climbed under the covers of a makeshift bed and closed her eyes, Lilly remembered something important. “Father Mouse,” she whispered, “Thank you for my little house!”

Lilly was up early the next morning. The sun shone through the window in her door, filling her house with light as she hurriedly ate a bowl of oats, then got ready for the day. Mother had told her about Uncle Tim’s Mice Mart, which was down by the river. Uncle Tim, she said, had everything!

Wearing her new pink shoes, Lilly set off and after a few wrong turns, finally found it. It was exactly where her mother had said it would be. “Well, I don’t have to tell anyone how long it took me to find it. After all, no one will suspect,” she whispered to herself. “They can see that I am a grown up like them.”

When she arrived, many other mice were already there shopping. Some smiled at her and said “Good morning”. “Good morning to you,” she returned, feeling quite grown up. Soon, however, she had forgotten all about herself as she walked about admiring Uncle Tim’s wares. At length her cart was full, and she was ready to go home. Placed on top of her purchases was a fat cheese sandwich, just waiting to be eaten for lunch.

Arriving home, Lilly sat down to munch on her sandwich while making a plan to arrange her new home. “Hmmm,” she mused under her breath. “I need a corner for my kitchen, a spot for my table and somewhere really special for my beautiful tub. This is going to be hard! I wonder how Mother ever learned to set up a house?”

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to remember some of her ideas for a new home. At last these started to come, and she began. Lilly had learned it’s always best to have a plan before starting, even if you have to change it later, but she didn’t know that was a very grown-up way of solving problems.

After several tries, she managed to stack the boxes in a way that formed a kitchen and quickly put in all her dishes. “Wow, it looks rather grand!” she exclaimed. She stepped back in satisfaction and wiped her hands on her skirt. “I wish Mother Mouse could see this,” she said proudly.

The following day Lilly made herself a beautiful bed out of another of the boxes that had been left behind. It had once held bags of tea and had letters printed on its side. “Twinings” she read. “I don’t know what it means, but it sounds delicious.”

Next, she used the box lid to make a closet for her dresses. “How pretty they look hanging there,” she thought. “I never knew I had so many lovely things. Perhaps I should have left some behind for Amelia and Lucy. On second thought,“ she paused, “they aren’t big enough to hang them up! “

Finally, she finished off her bedroom with a bedside table that had once been a can of beans. She placed a candle on it for reading in bed and a thimble vase of flowers. A “tree stand” doubled for hanging her hats and umbrellas, and a little rug next to the bed added a spot of color.

Placing her slippers beside her bed, she sighed, “Ah, a place for everything and everything in its place!”

Days passed quickly as Lilly continued to put her house in order. Some days she moved all the furniture to a new spot and then moved it all back. Finally however, a morning came that she woke up and knew everything was just right. It was then she realized she hadn’t even thought of her family. She only remembered them when she realized that no one was stealing her toothbrush or jumping on her bed. Of course she missed them, but she loved the new feeling of order and peace in her own home.

Every morning she would rise early, make her bed, and fix her breakfast. After that, “quick as a mouse”, as the saying goes, she would scurry around cleaning her house. That was so much fun that she would often sing a little song while doing the dishes or hanging up her clothes. Finally, she would stand before the beautiful, new mirror she had bought at Uncle Tim’s and brush her hair. Her brush was always just where she left it the day before.

Chapter Four – The Garden

One morning soon after Lilly finished putting her new home in order, she opened her front door and stepped out to a surprise. The air felt different. Tiny flowers were popping up everywhere, birds sang, and squirrels chittered in a happy chorus. “Wow! Spring is here!” she said. “Listen to that! I think I have some neighbors. I wonder, if I planted a garden, would they come and visit me?”

An hour later, Lilly was on her way to Uncle Tim’s, dressed in another favorite dress and carrying her largest basket. She had remembered that he had vegetable seeds, young cabbages and carrots for planting a garden. “Ahh, what a beautiful day!” she said to a young raccoon that lounged by Uncle Tim’s gate as she approached.

Back at home, she went to work digging holes and tucking her little plants into the ground. “Now, perhaps my neighbors will come,” she told herself.

The next morning Lilly was up before the sun. She grabbed her robe and slippers and made a beeline for the garden. Outside, she raced up and down the rows of little mounds of dirt looking eagerly for the sight of any new green leaves, but there were none. Next, she checked out the little cabbages and carrots purchased from Uncle Tim. Was it her imagination that they were a little taller?

In the days that followed, Lilly kept busy with her garden. Every day she watered and pulled weeds. Some days she picked a baby cabbage and carrots for lunch, but mostly she just waited. Waiting, she discovered, was the hardest part. “Oh my, when will I have enough for my neighbors?”

“Speaking of neighbors,” she thought to herself one hot day. “Where are they?” Several times while tending the garden she had a strong sense that someone was watching her. But who? Once at the sound of a faint sniffle nearby, she even looked over her shoulder, but no one was there.

One really hot day, Lilly gathered up her tools early and went inside. She and all her clothes were covered in mud. “I may be a mess, but my garden is going to be wonderful,” she sighed happily. She was so tired she could hardly wiggle but made herself a cup of mint tea and a toasted muffin. The feeling in her feet had just begun to come back when she had a brilliant idea.

“Tonight, I will try out my new bathtub,” she thought. “This is a perfect time to take my first bath in it.” She had cleaned it long ago, but was afraid to get into it by herself. At home she had always bathed with her sisters. “What will keep me from going under?” she wondered, but not for long. In a burst of bravery, she ran to the kitchen to grab the soap and a bucket of water. Bubbles were already forming as she jumped in!

To her surprise she didn’t even sink at all. Laying her head back on the edge of the tub, she closed her eyes. “I guess I have grown,” she said.

Weeks passed as the summer sun did it’s work in Lilly’s garden. Every day her plants grew a little larger and more beautiful. They still needed a lot of water, but had outgrown even the weeds.

Surprisingly, Red, who was not very interested in this new project at first, began to join her every day as she worked. Sometimes he just watched from a nearby tree limb, and other days he guarded the big plant basket where Lilly had begun to place the plants that were ready to harvest.

One day Lilly stood up from watering the carrots and looked around. “Well, Red, I think we have enough vegetables to have a party. Tomorrow let’s make an invitation to let all our neighbors know we want them to share our lovely vegetables. We’ll use the old tree stump as a table and make it fancy.”

Then she had one last thought. “Red, tomorrow let’s make a big sign that says, ‘Come to Lilly’s Garden Party’ and we’ll hang it over the front door. I hope they can read!”

Sure enough, the next day found Lilly and Red laying out supplies to make the sign for their garden party. They raked the ground in front of the door smooth and clean, then carefully laid out an old piece of cloth Lilly had brought from home just for such emergencies.

“Now,” Lilly said, “What can we use to write our words? There must be something in the pantry. But what? I wish I had some pens from Mother Mouse’s house.” Just then, Red began to hop around in excitement chattering loudly in bird language. “I don’t understand you, Red. What are you saying?”

He answered her by half-flying, half-skipping into the house where he stopped in front of a basket of blueberries. “Oh Red, you are brilliant!” Lilly shouted. “We can make blueberry ink!”

Hours later, after lots of trial and error, the two friends proudly hung their sign above the door. There were a few blueberry drips and some of the words were probably misspelled, but it was done!

That night, in bed, Lilly thought about all the work she had done to make friends. “What if no one comes?” she wondered, but fell asleep before she could wonder anything else.

The next day Red and Lilly scrubbed the old tree stump and the ground surrounding it, making places for their friends to sit. They washed all the vegetables and laid them out. At last, as they sat down to wait, Lilly sighed, “I think .… we are ready.”

Then, after a rather long wait, one shy creature after another began to appear and quietly find a place at the table. They came from every direction and before very long filled the garden. Everyone spoke their own language, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone. There were many smiles and sighs of satisfaction as they feasted on Lilly’s delicious veggies. At last, when everything had been eaten, their guests left with smiles and waves. “Red,” Lilly said, “I think they will come again.” Red didn’t reply as he was sound asleep!

Chapter Five – A Visitor

The days following the garden party were very busy. Lilly and Red had frequent visits from their new friends. The rabbits came almost every day and played games with Red as Lilly finished harvesting the vegetables. Even Squirrel came to sit with Lilly on her new bench by the front door. Sometimes he would be carrying a cluster of berries, which he loved to drop adoringly in her lap. “Thank you, my sweet friend,” she would say, which always made him duck his head in embarrassment.

On other days they all took long walks together. Lilly found a bicycle buried under a pile of leaves. “Look, an old bike. I wonder if it’s still rideable?” she said as she pulled it out of the weeds and hopped on. After that everyone wanted a ride!

Then, one day they noticed the weather had begun to change. There was a new crispness in the air. “I think summer is going away!” Lilly said sadly, “but what a summer it has been!”

On one unusually cool day several weeks later, Lilly was cleaning house when she noticed the light coming from her window was somehow not as bright. She put down her mop, and peered out to see what was happening. Then she opened her door and sure enough, large raindrops were falling on her porch and everywhere in her garden.

Her face fell. “Oh no, I was planning a bicycle ride today.“ She looked around her cozy little house and realized that after the mopping job was done she would have nothing else to do. “I never thought ‘everything in its place and a place for everything’ could be bad! Now, what am I going to do today?”

“Maybe the sun will come out and I can still go riding on my bike,” she said hopefully. She went to the window again and saw the raindrops were even larger. She dragged a stool over to her door for a better view. “I wonder what all those brothers and sisters of mine are doing today? I wish they were here,” she sighed.

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever. Lilly pulled out a jigsaw puzzle that Raccoon had given her, but it just wasn’t fun working on it by herself.

Then, she went to her closet and re-arranged all of her dresses by color, but that didn’t take very long. Next, she re-organized her whole pantry, but when she was done, nothing looked appetizing. Meanwhile, the rain was becoming a storm.

As night grew closer, thunder began to shake the tree branches outside. The wind started howling, and inside the candle on her bedside table suddenly went out. Lilly was sure she wasn’t scared, but she decided she would feel safer in her bed.

She was just climbing into it when she heard a faint knock. Though timid at first, it quickly grew louder. Lilly hopped out of bed and ran to the door. There on the doorstep stood a small, very wet mouse.

“Oh my goodness, Petey!” Lilly shouted. “Come in out of the storm right this minute! Does Mother Mouse know where you are?

She reached out into the rain and grabbed her little brother by his collar, pulling him quickly into the house. “Petey, what are you doing here? We must get you out of those wet clothes right away or you will be sick! Here, let’s take your shirt off.”

“Don’t be mad, Sis,” Petey answered “I didn’t mean any harm. Aren’t you glad to see me? It was an awful lot of trouble to find you. I’m right proud of myself,” he bragged with a lopsided grin.

Then, he began to look around as Lilly re-lit her candle and ran for some towels to wrap him in. “We must get you into the bathtub right away,” she said. “Wowsers, a bathtub!” Petey said. Then, as he looked at Lilly’s perfect house, he said, “Please don’t send me home, Lilly. I miss you so much. Can I spend the night and sleep in your bed with you?”

“Of course silly, but I hope you left Mother a note.” Lilly said with a frown.

“I’ll bet they haven’t even missed me,” Petey replied with a big grin.

Soon they were snuggled together in Lilly’s bed listening to the rain pour down. Lilly had given Petey some supper, followed by a cookie and a glass of milk. At last, he fell asleep as she read to him. Later, Lilly lay awake enjoying the sound of his breathing and his presence on a rainy night. She didn’t even mind sharing her cover with him.

Thoughts and plans for the following day flitted through her head. First, they must clean the dirty ring out of the bathtub, of course! But after that, they must make a plan to take Petey home. Finally, content with her plans, Lilly fell sleep and dreamed a wonderful dream. In her dream, her whole family had come for a visit, and everyone laughed and shouted with happiness at being together again.

The next morning Lilly and Petey slept late. After eating Lilly’s blueberry pancakes, they sat at the table talking and laughing. Lilly couldn’t help noticing that Petey had tied his shoes. “Petey is growing up,” she whispered to herself in surprise.

At last, Lilly said, “Petey, I have a really fun plan for us today, but we must clean up the house first and then I will tell you what I am thinking.” Petey’s eyes sparkled, but he only said, “What do I have to clean? I have a feeling that it’s going to be the bathtub.” “That’s right,” laughed Lilly. “How did you guess? You may get down in the tub if you want, but please use plenty of soap and water. I will clean up the kitchen. Then we will talk.”

When everything was tidy, Lilly and Petey sat down to rest. At last, Petey could not wait another minute! “Lilly, please, please, please may I spend another night with you,” he burst out. “I don’t want to go home yet. I want to meet your friends and stay with you for a visit. I think I am old enough. I CAN tie my own shoes.”

“Petey,” Lilly smiled, “I have a plan that is better than that, but first we need to get you home to Mother and Father.”

Petey’s face fell. “How is that a better plan?” he asked.

Lilly laughed in spite of herself. “I think you are growing up to be quite a mouse, little brother! Now listen to my plan. I would like very much for you, and all our family to come for a visit anytime you want to, but I need to ask you an important question first. How did you find your way here?”

Petey’s face broke into a smile. “Oh, that’s easy. I just remembered some of the things you told us. You sat on a toad stool, walked through rocky mounds and passed through tall grass until you came to the napping rock. I just looked for those things as I went along. It was easy-peasy!”

“Oh, Petey, that was very grown-up! I am so proud of you! Now that you know the way, you can teach the others. We will have so much fun when you come! Now, quickly gather your things. You may ride on the back of my bike to Mother and Fathers’ house if you promise not to wiggle.”

“Aw, Lilly,” Petey laughed. “Don’t you remember? I am a grown-up mouse now?”