The Mouse And The Spider

The Mouse and The Spider

A Christmas Story

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a mouse and a spider.  They both lived in a stable.  They were not friends.  The mouse wanted to eat the spider and the spider wanted to sting the mouse and kill it.  Each wanted the stable all to themselves, no sharing required.  If the mouse was not chasing the spider, the spider was sneaking up on the mouse, sometimes from its web hung over where the mouse was sleeping.  The usual animals inhabited the stable from time to time.  

Then one night two humans came into the stable seeking shelter.  The mouse said to the spider hanging overhead, “It must be crowded around here, that humans come into our stable.”  The spider replied, “We must beware of humans.  They like to trap mice and crush spiders.”  So the mouse and the spider kept away from the two humans.  The woman seemed restless and the man seemed fitful.  He cleaned out one of the feeding mangers and put in fresh hay.  Then the woman began to moan and cry out.  Suddenly, the sound of an infant baby filled the stable.  

The cold air seemed to warm up a bit.  By and by, the baby was placed into the manger.  Animals gathered around the manger and breathed warm air onto the baby who was all wrapped up.  At about this time, the spider and the mouse had the same thought.  Coincidence?  They lost their mutual desire to destroy one another. It was overcome with curiosity to go see what was in the manger.  They had a strange sense that the humans would not mind.  The mouse said to the spider, “It will be quicker for you if I carry you on my back to the baby.”  The spider hopped on, with no fear of hurting one another.  

When they got to the manger, the mouse scampered up the side, and they both peered into the manger.  What they saw looked like an ordinary baby.  What was not ordinary, the miracle, was that the from that moment on, the mouse and the spider became friends.  So if you have someone who is bothersome to you, go together to the manger and look at the baby Jesus.  Maybe even hold hands with one another.