World War II

Thursday: January 29, 2015

     The secluded woodland was infinite to the creatures it held. The forest floor burdened all the land animals being plastered with sharp thorns, hoarse plants, and tangled moss. Sunlight never reached through the thick canopy of branches to greet the woodland floor, only the creatures that flew had the opportunity for such luxury. Although the prime flying creature the forest inhabited was bats, they never even took the opportunity to the dismay of the mice below.

     In a tiny sector of the woods at the foot of an oak tree, imprisoned a small white mouse that had been captured what had felt like a life time ago. Similarly to plenty of his kind, he was brought to the unfrequented forest for labor, to clear the coated ground and eventually die for the pleasure of the bats. The mice were kept against their will and although the bats were blindly taking orders from their subconscious', they tortured and tormented the mice in every way imaginable. 

     One night, as the bats swarmed above and the mice struggled below, the tiny white mouse began to devise a plan. He thought if he could untangle as much moss and remove as many thorns from his quarters at the oak tree to a clearing in the forest floor, then he could potentially escape. The mouse worked all night and day, attempting to create a path, but the ground was matted with a combination of the thorns, moss and other shed vegetative parts, however the mouse kept on.

     After months and months of labor through the forest, threats to be eaten, and loss of many fellow mice, the mouse was still pursuing his plan. In such concentration of untangling hoarse plants, the mouse almost did not catch the glimpse of sunlight from above. The slight ray surged through the open spaces between the leaves and branches. He had entered a new portion of the forest, untouched by the other mice, and the openings of the trees allowing light to burst through, slightly blinded him opposed to the dark abyss he had become accustomed to. The sunshine encouraged the mouse to keep working toward the possibility of freedom.

     However, a bat occupying the same oak tree of the mouse, had heard the mouse tentatively working on the pathway. Instead of punishing the mouse on the spot, the bat waited for his prey to believe it could get away, patiently stalking the tiny white mouse. The mouse's plan had originally been brilliant, to work cautiously during the day and apprehensively right under the noses' of the bats at night. But when anticipation for freedom overwhelmed the mouse, he became rather reckless, hence the bat's discovery of him.

     On the day the bat had planned on capturing the mouse, a flock of eagles overcame the forest, eating and attacking the bats, allowing the mice to run free. Thankfully, the cleared path the white mouse had created over the past few months became the escape route for the thousands of mice that had been captured for so long. The mice population had dropped significantly but at least they had their longed freedom.


If any of you are wondering why it is my title is "World War II" that is because this short story is a descriptive/creative essay my English teacher assigned our class after reading an excerpt from Steinbeck. Our goal was to mimic his writing style as well as create a ficticous short-story about an animal in a micro-setting that seems mundane and seemingly-ordinary, however holds a deeper, more profound meaning. This story symbolizes the concentration camps of World War II.
Thanks for reading!

Katya Podkovyroff
"The September Journalist"