Several years ago, I remember hearing about a mouse looking through a small hole in a farm house and seeing a mouse trap. He ran down the hill and into the barn and he said to the chicken, “there’s a mouse trap in the house. There’s a mousetrap in the house. But the chicken said, that’s got nothing do with me, I’m a chicken. And mouse traps are made for a mouse.

So, the mouse ran over to the pig and said, there’s a mouse trap in the house. There’s a mouse trap in the house. But the pig said, look I’m a pig, why should I worry about a mouse trap with one crush of my foot, I can kill the mouse and destroy the trap. But the mouse insisted, but there is a mouse trap in the house. And the pig said, I told you before, I’m not afraid of a mouse.

So, the mouse ran over to the cow, and said, there’s a mouse trap in the house, there’s a mouse trap in the house. There’s a mouse trap in the house. The cow said, that’s fine. I’ll tell you what I will do, I’ll call a cow meeting and we will all pray for you, and we’ll ask God what to do. 

So in disgust, the mouse left and went back up the hill to the farm house. And looked through the hole again. This time he saw the farmer’s wife reaching for her keys, but she fell off the bed, and caught the tail of a snake, and suddenly the snake turned and bit her. The farmer rushed out of the house and to the doctor’s office. The doctor told him to put her to bed and make her a bowl of hot chicken soup.

So, the farmer killed the chicken and made the soup. Unfortunately, his wife didn’t get any better. Her family and friends came to sit with her, and her husband asked them if they love barbecue. And they said yes. He killed the pig, and gave them some barbecue. A few days later she died, and at the repass he killed the cow.

The mouse said, I tried to tell them that there was a mouse trap in the house.

During Black History Month, we must be reminded that whether we are Jews or Gentiles, black or white, Democrat or Republican, during this time in history, we can never be all that we ought to be as long as others are not all that they can be. We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny, and we must learn to live together as friends or we will all die apart like fools.

The story of the mousetrap reminds me during this Black History Month that we are all at risk of being destroyed if we are not careful. For I can never be all that I ought to be until you are all that you can be. There is a mutual dependence and a necessary connection between all of us.

The Rev. Floyd Rose, Valdosta, is senior servant, Serenity Church.