Who knew?

Now I know what kind of sound I make when the cat trots into the room with a squirming mouse in her mouth. Evidently...I scream. Not once, not twice but three times. Like in the cartoons - high-pitched and hysterical. At least I didn't jump up onto a chair, or start swatting blindly with a broom...

In my defense - I'm not scared of mice, it was just very startling when Monkey interrupted our card game to proudly show us her new friend. So startling that I screamed, which startled Monkey who then dropped the mouse, which startled me more so I screamed, which startled the mouse who then started scrambling (with a limp) away, which made me scream again, which startled Monkey again but not enough to prevent her from grabbing her friend and heading downstairs, away from the screams.

Eventually we were able to rescue(?) the mouse from Monkey's jaws and take it outside, in a La Croix box, so it could scurry (with a limp) away to freedom. I doubt it survived the night - it didn't seem long for the world and let's not forget the trio of astute feline hunters living next door. But the box was empty this morning...we'll never know. Back to the screams - I was kind of surprised, myself, by my blood-curdling response to the wriggling little furry guy. Felt a little silly, but also amused, when the whole adventure was over.

As we stood in the kitchen, recalling the Great Mouse Incident of 2009, N. asked me to promise never to make those sounds again. But something tells me there's no guarantee...

P.S.
As you might imagine, there's no scarcity of images on the internet of cats with mice in their mouths. Or on their heads.

P.P.S.
Screaming at the top of your lungs is actually very cathartic. But famous scientists like Dr. Gregory Whitehead have known this for a long time. Check out some of his most impressive research. (number 20)