The furry little mammal sat silently in the darkness. He knew he was entrapped by the bamboo cage that surrounded him, but for what did it matter? He had long forgotten any feelings of freedom: his entrapment almost comforted him now. Surrounded by this pseudo-safety he snuggled down into the cedar shavings and slept.
Hidden from the mouse by his slumber, the dark room became unhidden. The perfectly square room was illuminated by the sudden, simultaneous opening of the door on each wall. From each direction, a creature entered from each door and stared hungrily upon the little bamboo cage sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Each one bent down and grabbed a side of the cage; and together they lifted the top off. They all glanced down upon the little mouse sleeping without his shelter.
The mouse awoke from his slumber as sudden freedom rushed around him. Intoxicated by this first taste of independence, he rushed to his left, his right, forward, back--around and around. The ominous creatures standing around him seemed to pose no threat. Open doors--portals to bliss--surrounded him. Overwhelmed at all his choices, he finally returned to the middle of the room and thought...Which way to run? Which way to run? Which way to run?
The creatures watched him curiously to see how he reacted to his new freedom. Some hoped he would run to them; others just hoped that he would not escape. When the mouse stopped in his confusion, a collection of hands reached down and covered him. Carefully, but skillfully, they tried small ropes around his arms and legs; and then by connecting the other end of each rope to each open door's knob, they suspended him in the middle of the room. As they poked and studied the odd little creature, each creature begin to be filled with desire. Each wanted the mouse to be hers and hers only. The pulling and the tugging began.
Pain, confusion, hopelessness twisted the mouse. He had the choice to move before, but now he was being pulled from all directions.
Right before they stretched the life out of the little mouse, sounds entered the room from all four directions. "Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak." Each creature released her tension on the door-tied rope and turned around. A handsome white mouse sat in each doorway--unexpected gifts from the she-creatures' god. Each of the four creatures grabbed her mouse and left the room-- shutting the doors behind them.
As light left the room, the ropes gained tension. Ropes pulled tighter and tighter as the doors accelerated in opposite directions. The mouse's body was separated in tiny pieces of flesh, and his splattered fluids dripped down the walls. The doors were shut. The room was dark.