There was a mouse named Jared who lived in the Trondheim forest with his parents and siblings. The forest was home to many friendly animals. One day, the curious Jared went exploring in the woods without his parents' permission. When his parents realized he was missing, they began a frantic search with neighbors. Unable to find Jared, they returned home distraught. Meanwhile, Jared had fallen down a hole. Other animals were unable to help him. As it began to rain, filling the hole with water, Jared remembered he could swim and float to safety. He hurried home, where he found his crying parents and promised never to wander off alone again.

1. The Story of Jared The Mouse
By Ali Kivambe
There was a mouse named Jared. He lives with his mom
and dad in the forest named the Trondheim forest. The forest
has a lot of trees and it is where lots of nice and friendly
animals live. The animals are not bossy like other animals in
other forests and they don’t hurt each other. But sometimes
the forest can be dangerous because in some of the places
there are evil critters that steal mice from their parents and eat
them. That’s why Jared's parents tell him not to go to the
woods without permission from his parents. Jarod is very

2. mischievous and loves adventures. One day Jarod woke up early
in the morning to explore in the woods. He got dressed and
went outside without his parents’ permission.When his parents
woke up, they went to Jared's room to see if he was there but
Jared was gone. His parents started panicking.
“I am so worried if Jared is in trouble,” cried Jared's mom.
“Let’s go look for him. Maybe he is in trouble.” said Jared's
dad. They rushed to the door to find Jarod. First they went to
their neighbor’s house to see if Jared was there, but he wasn’t
there. “ I have not seen him today. Maybe he is in the other
neighbor’s house” said the neighbor.
Then they went to their second neighbor’s to see if Jared
was there. But he wasn’t there, so they went to Jared's friend’s
house to see if he was there, but he wasn’t there.
“Let’s go look in the forest. Maybe he is there,” said Jared's
mom.
Jared's mom, dad, sister and brother went to look for him
to see if he was in the forest. They went looking and looking
until they found Critter Valley where bad guys lived. They went
looking for him there, but he wasn’t there.
While Jared's parents and siblings were looking for him,
Jarod was walking all by himself in the opposite direction. When
they left Critter Valley, Jarod appeared in Critter Valley.
Jarod’s family went to look in Friendly Valley which was
where the nice people lived. Jarod wasn’t there. Jared's mom
got. frightened.

3. “What if we never find him again?” Jared's mom whined.
“We’ll find him, if we look hard enough!” said Jared's dad
optimistically.
Meanwhile, Jarod was walking and there was a hole in
front of him. Jarod didn’t see it and he fell in it.
“Help!” cried Jarod. “Anybody? Help!” But nobody heard
him. He starts to panic.
A rabbit came by and Jarod screamed for help.
“I can’t help right now because I have to get home for
dinner. If I don’t get home for dinner I’ll be in trouble,” said the
little rabbit.

4. An hour passes and Jarod is feeling nervous. He is tapping
his hands and feet and biting his lip. He is thinking, “I never
should have done this. I am going to get in so much trouble
when I get home. If I get out of this hole.”
A squirrel passes by and Jarod screams for help.
“Help! Can you help me?”
“I can’t,” said the squirrel. “I have to gather acorns and
bury them before winter.”
Then, it started drizzling. While it started to rain, Jared's
parents were still looking for him. They looked everywhere, but
gave up because they couldn’t find Jarod.
After they gave up the search, they walked home with
tears in their eyes. When they arrived home, Jared's mom cried,
“I can’t believe we couldn’t find him! Maybe he’s in trouble?
Maybe he was stolen by the critters who steal baby mice and
eat them?”
While they were at home, Jarod was still stuck in the hole
as it rained harder than ever before. The hole was filled up
water.
“I can swim!” remembered Jarod. “I can also float.”
Jarod floated to the surface, he ran home as fast as he
could. He was shaking, and tears were running down his cheeks.
When he reached home, he saw his parents crying. He went and
hugged his mom very tight.
“I’m very sorry, I shouldn’t have gone to the woods without
permission. I will never do it again, I promise.” cried Jarod.

5. “It’s okay, we forgive you. But promise you never run off
again. We thought we would never see you again,” said Jared’s
parents.
“I promise, I’ll never leave the house again,” Jarod said
cheerfully.
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