The day was bright outside the small, empty, suburban home. It was the true American dream, its white picket fence, golden lab lying on the porch next to his master in the old rocking chair, with the two children playing in the yard.
In a hole within the wall, slept a small mouse named Beckham. As Beckham rose from his slumber and blinked his little eyes, a sound rumbled from deep inside him and he knew that there was only one cure. Ever so slowly, he poked his head out of the hole. If he looked to the left, he would see the doorway to the living room and hear the light hiss of the television. If he looked to the right he would see the outside world through the screen door of the home. However, the only place that Beckham looked was straight ahead, for what he required was atop the kitchen counter.
The light scent of the aging cheese wafts with the breeze from the open window that overlooks the front yard, and once again, the pangs of hunger rumbled throughout Beckham. With great agility, Beckham sprints across the floor with only his goal in mind. For such a small creature there is only one way for him to achieve this goal. He runs into the crack between the counter and the refrigerator. The squeeze is tight, even for a mouse, but for Beckham, this is well worth the trouble. Ever so slowly, with his back against the fridge and his paws against the counter, he climbs his way up higher and higher. He finally reaches the top and, with his goal in sight, runs across the counter. Beckham reaches the cheese and for just a moment, he revels in the sharp scent.
Just as Beckham starts to enjoy a bite of his cheese, there is a loud clatter from the open window sill. Beckham tenses up and quickly looks past the cheese to see a beautiful, fluffy, white cat. The name on the cat’s collar clearly says “Angel” as the golden clasp shines in the morning sun. The air quickly grows tense as the two animals lock eyes. For what feels like an eternity, Beckham and Angel watch each other.
In the blink of an eye, Beckham turns and runs down the length of the counter away from the cat, the fridge, and his cheese! Just as quickly, Angel leaps through the window and sprints down the counter towards Beckham! Beckham makes it to the sink and quickly makes it around the outer edge of the sink and turns toward the opposite side of the room, with only his mouse hole in sight. With a valiant leap of faith he aims for the small patch of carpet just in front of the sink. Just as his little mousey paws leave the ground, Angel takes a swipe at Beckham! Beckham spins in the air just as Angel loses her balance and falls into the full sink with a large splash!
Beckham hits the ground, and luckily, the carpeting. He sprints towards his hole veering to the left and then to the right as he recovers from his dizziness. He brakes as best as he can and slides into his hole! With a little mouse sigh, he plops down onto his belly. The breeze carries the aroma of the cheese right back to Beckham’s hole.  It’s a hard knock life for a mouse, but sometimes a little bit of that golden cheddar, makes it all the worthwhile.