Mick McArt - The Church Mice of Wordishure

This is a work of fiction. Except in references to the Lord Jesus Christ, the events and characters described herein are imaginary and not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

Tales of Wordishure: The Church Mice of Wordishure

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2012 Mick Art Productions

V1.0

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphics, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Mick Art Productions, LLC

www.mickartproductions.com

ISBN: 9781622090013

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:31

Early one Sunday morning, as Fellowship Church sat docked on Waterdove Lake, a small light flickered from a hole above the church piano. Inside the hole lived three little church mice, two of which, were sound asleep.

Colby, the oldest brother, snored loudly and licked his lips. He was dreaming about this upcoming morning's Squishberry pancakes. Topped, of course, with lots of four- leaf clover honey. Pepper, his younger sister, slept soundly with her sleeping cap pulled down over her ears to block out Colby's loud snoring. Jack, the youngest of the three mice, sat on his bed reading his Bible by candlelight. He loved to read God's Word. He especially loved reading about all the heroes of the faith whose trust in God got them through the most challenging of situations. Jack hardly slept a wink all night. He was too excited about being in the church play this morning.

Colby, Pepper, and Jack were cast to play the parts of the three lions in "Daniel in the Lions Den". They practiced being lions for weeks. Jack was so anxious, he wore his lion costume to bed! While rubbing his eyes, he let out a quick yawn.

"Creeeaaakk," came a noise. "That's odd," Jack thought. "I've squeaked, but never creaked."

He opened his mouth again. "Creeaakkkk," he quickly closed it again. Jack put his hand over his mouth and peered over at his sleeping siblings. "Creeaaakk," came the noise again. "If I'm not creaking," he wondered, "what's making that sound?"

Then came other noises: a groan, a pop, and then a loud KABONG that shook the entire ship! It sounded like something big had crashed above him on the upper deck. "The church bell!" exclaimed Jack, recognizing the sound of the Fellowship Church bell.

"What was that?" grumbled Colby, sitting upright before climbing out of his bed. When Colby stood up, bits of hay fell out onto the floor. He rushed over to Jack, passing Pepper, who was still asleep with her ears covered.

"Let's go see what happened," Jack told Colby, leading him by his pajama sleeve. They raced out of the hole onto the piano and climbed down its side. Then they leaped onto the wooden staircase leading to the upper deck. That's when they attempted to tiptoe over the squeaky board they knew was halfway up the stairs. "Squeak!" came the sound from the board as Jack stepped on it. "Shh," Colby warned as he gently set his toe down. "Squeak!" came the sound again. Colby winced then shrugged his shoulders at Jack. The two brothers could have been a little more careful, but everyone knows how hard it is for a mouse not to squeak.

Once at the top, they saw the church bell lying on the deck with a big crack running up its side. Lying beside it was the rope that used to hold it in place.

"Maybe it's just a scratch," Colby remarked hopefully, walking up to touch the bell where it was cracked.

"Then its the biggest scratch ever!" answered Jack from inside the bell, peering out at Colby through the crack. "How will people know when it's time to come to church? Everyone's going to miss the church play!"

"It looks like somebody nibbled off bits of the rope," came a familiar voice from behind the bell.

Startled, Colby and Jack nearly fell over. Their friend Honx the goose waddled out into view. "You gave us a good scare, Honx," stammered Colby.

"Yes," agreed Jack, straightening out the fur on his lion costume. "I'm supposed to be the scary one today."

"Sorry to frighten you. I was delivering this morning's Squishberries from Trusthymn Village when I heard the kabong, so I decided to investigate. I found this rope behind the bell."

As the two brothers approached Honx, they could see that the rope had been nibbled on.

"Uh oh," commented Colby as he examined the rope. "I think this may be my fault."

"That isn't hay in your bed, is it?" Jack asked Colby while plucking a bit of rope strand from his brother's pajamas.

Colby rubbed his nose and said, "I get hay fever. Besides, this rope is really soft." He rubbed the rope strand on his cheek and pretended to purr like a cat. "I can purr, I'm supposed to be a lion today," shrugged the little brown mouse.

"But lions don't chew on ropes," came a voice from behind them.

It was Pepper, glaring at them with her arms crossed. She was up early and already wearing her favorite green dress with yellow polka dots, for Sunday services. "And they certainly don't snore!"

"We thought you were still asleep," said Jack.

"The squeaky board woke me up," replied Pepper as she examined the rope. "I can sleep through loud crashes and even Colby's snoring, but I can't let a squeak go by without checking on you two."

"Why would you nibble on the same part of the rope?" Jack asked Colby.

"It's the only part I could reach," confessed his older brother.

"If we don't fix the bell, my friend Edward and his grandma won't know when to be here to make squishberry pancakes!" worried Honx, patting his belly.

"Maybe the Tree Scouts can help fix the bell!" suggested Jack. He knew that the Tree Scouts loved to help others. "We need to go to Springwater Lake and find Gideon the inventor. I bet he can fix this."

"But Springwater Lake is quite a distance from here," noted Pepper.

"I can fly you there," honked Honx. "It sounds like an adventure!"

"I hope your friend can help," said the pastor of Fellowship Church, as he walked up to examine the crack in the bell.

Colby hung his head and apologized, "I'm sorry Pastor. I promise never to do it again."

The Pastor knelt down, picked Colby up in his hand and said, "Everyone makes mistakes, Colby, and it is important to apologize," then he placed his finger over Colby's heart. "But this bell will never ring unless someone takes time to fix it."

"I'll say!" agreed Honx, wiping his wing across a Squishberry stain on his feathers.

The Pastor set Colby back down with the others. "I must go finish my sermon, but first let's pray for your journey. You'll need to reach as many people as you can before it's too late."

The three mice all looked at each other. Jack in his lion costume, Pepper in her fancy dress, and Colby still wearing his pajamas. "We're ready," said Jack as they prayed with Pastor and asked God to be with them. Colby knew in his heart that he had done wrong, and wanted to make things right with the Lord. Trying to fix a mistake without God is a bigger mistake, he thought.

"Be careful with those claws," joked Honx as Jack and the mice climbed onto his back. "And hang on!"