On the wall of a beautiful house lives a mouse named Martin. He lives there with his mom and dad, sisters and brothers. Many other relatives and friends also live there. Martin is a little white mouse who loves adventure. He prefers others to call him Marty. It is known that he goes into the big house. His parents have told him that it is not safe for him to enter the big house alone. Not even his parents’ warning can stop Marty from exploring the house. There are simply too many treasures that he can bring to his family.
In the big house, Marty can always find amazing things for his family to use. Once his family needed a new trash can. In the big house, Marty found the cap of an old toothpaste tube. It was the perfect size. Marty’s family’s favorite treat is crumbs from the delicious food the family eats in the big house. Marty’s family enjoyed the knitting he brought home from a trip to the big house. The fabrics became cloths, curtains, tablecloths and towels. Marty’s mom lined her bed with tissues to keep everyone warm and comfortable. Marty felt lucky to have found the forgotten tissue box under the bathroom sink. He could take home as many handkerchiefs as he could carry. Marty watched as the lid of the jar of cotton balls was left open. It would be a big surprise to bring fluffy cotton pillows home to his family.
During Marty’s last adventure in the big house, he explored the drawer inside a desk. He got scared when he heard the girl who lived in the big house talking to her mother about Santa himself. Christmas is Marty’s favorite holiday. Every year he wrote letters from Santa Claus to all of his sisters and brothers. His parents told all his kids stories about Santa’s good list and the dreaded bad list. He made her think about how he was disobeying his parents every time he went to the big house alone. Marty was worried not only about the girl’s voice and her mother, but also about her name being put on Santa’s naughty list.
Marty listened as the girl talked to her mom about writing letters from Santa. To her surprise, the girl opened the drawer in which she was hiding. When the drawer opened, Marty ran to the back corner of the drawer. He tucked his head under his arm and wrapped his tail tightly around her body. He stayed perfectly still hoping his pricked ears didn’t give him away. When he looked around his arm, he saw the girl smile at him. The girl looked very cute. Marty’s plan was to tell the girl that she was sorry for sneaking into her drawer and she promised that she would never come back and then she would jump into her mousetrap in the corner of the room. If he was quick, he could get past the girl and to the safety of her home.
The girl surprised Marty by reaching out her large hand and gently stroking the top of his head. He was amazed at how soft his huge hand could be. He knew right away that he liked the girl because her hands smelled like the most wonderful candy on hers. Marty tried to imagine how good that candy must taste. The girl told Marty that her name was Hailei and that she would never hurt him or any other animal. Hailei told Marty that she would love to take care of him for her. Hailei did something that surprised Marty. At her feet, Hailei placed a plump green jelly bean. Marty had never had a human give him anything before. He listened and ate as Hailei talked about Christmas and the importance of Santa’s letters sent from the North Pole.
Hailei insisted that receiving personalized letters from Santa was the best gift anyone could receive for Christmas. She told Marty that if you get letters from Santa, they remember you in a very special way. Marty thought of all the letters she had written to Santa over the years. He knew that he should write a letter to Santa to explain why he disobeyed his parents again. Marty hoped that Santa would realize that he just wanted to pick up some of the glitter that Hailei had spilled in the drawer. The glitter would be the perfect finishing touch to the tree his father had brought home.
The girl gave Marty a small purse. Inside it, Hailei had packed buttons, a rainbow of string and ribbon, candy, glitter, and enough cotton balls for all of her family. Hailei invited Marty to come back as soon as she could. He was so excited because Hailei said that he would give him more things that he could take home with his family. Marty went to sleep that night on a soft cotton pillow. He dreamed of Christmas magic and letters from Santa Claus.
