A FISHERMAN had a little shop in a small town on the coast, where he sold his catch of the harvest of the sea. Next door a little mouse had made his home, and he would make nightly forays into the fish shop where he enjoyed many a good supper, at the expense of the fish seller.
One evening the fisherman brought in some oysters which he left on the table until the morning. As usual during the night the little mouse entered the shop and began his search for food. He sniffed around the floor and then, climbing up onto the table, he spied the fresh oysters. Being a bit of a connoisseur the change in menu delighted him. So popping his head into an open shell he was soon having a grand feast at Mr. Oyster’s expense.
His little teeth were very sharp,
And wakened up the oyster,
Who closed his shell upon the mouse
And shut him in his cloister.
Next morning when the fisher came
And opened up his shop,
He found the poor mouse stiff and cold,
Beyond all earthly hope.
A dear Christian man, who loved boys and girls, used to tell this story to warn them against looking into things and going into places where they didn’t belong.
Sometimes our love for this world’s lusts and pleasures leads us into places where we ought not to be, often we are trapped, and this only results in sorrow and shame.
Then too Satan sets traps seeking to catch the unwary. If we have the Lord as our Saviour and keep close to Him, He guides us away from those snares. But if we do fail and fall into one of Satan’s traps, only the Lord Jesus can deliver us.
The little mouse had no deliverer. But those who have fallen into the trap of sin can cry to the Lord and He is both willing and able to save. He came into this world to save sinners. But those who do not have Him as their Saviour will perish in their sins.
ML-10/31/1971