Alexander and the Magic Mouse is a wonderful children’s storybook about a fabulous Victorian house, the elderly lady that lives there with an alligator, a yak, a mouse, and a cat. 

They prepare for a storm, and help their local community with bravery and courage.  We won’t give away the ending, or the best parts, but we have to share an excerpt of their daily tea and their pantry stocking for the expected storm.

Without further ado, the following is an excerpt from Alexander and the Magic Mouse, by Martha Sanders, illustrated by Philippe Fix, American Heritage Press, New York, 1969:

First, the daily tea at five…

“In her youth, the Old Lady, who was then a Young Lady, had been a great traveler.  She went to many far lands. From each of her favorite places she wanted to bring something home.  Not just a souvenir, but something really beautiful and interesting. So she asked the Brindle London Squatting Cat if he would come from England, and the Alligator if he would come from China, and the Yak if she would come from Tibet. And so the friends all lived together, along with the Magical Mouse.

Each afternoon at five the Old Lady rang a small shiny bell: tea was served.  All the animals came into the drawing room and sat down and had tea and cakes and told what happened that day.

The Brindle London Squatting Cat had to promise not to try to catch the Magical Mouse during teatime. All the same, the Magical Mouse made herself invisible.  She never took chances. The old Lady would put a bit of cake on the table, near the knitting basket, and presently it would be gone. Sometimes, as the cake was disappearing, the Brindle London Squatting Cat would forget himself and would forget himself and raise his paw over the place; then the Old Lady would look at him disapprovingly and say, “Now, now,” and he would put his paw down again, frowning.”

Storm warning

“One fine afternoon in May, as they had all just sat down to tea and the Old Lady was about to ask them to tell their adventures, a tiny voice came from the knitting basket.  Everyone was very surprised, for the Magical Mouse was shy, and never spoke unless she had something very important to say. They waited in silence. Then the Magical Mouse squeaked, “It is going to rain for thirty days and thirty nights!  My tail tells me so, and my tail is never wrong. We must be ready!”

The Old Lady got up and went to the window.  There was not a cloud in the sky. “Are you sure,” she asked.

“My tail tells me so, and my tail is never wrong,” said the Magical Mouse, and that was all she would say.  Her feelings were hurt. She refused to tell when the storm would begin.”

Storm preparations

“Let us think,” said the Old Lady, sitting down again.  “We must have plenty of wood to burn, and plenty to eat, and a great many books and games to amuse ourselves with.”

Then they all bustled about. The Alligator brought in logs of wood from the woodpile.  The Yak dug up a supply of vegetables from the garden. The Old Lady looked in all the cupboards to be sure there was plenty of flour and molasses and marmalade and strawberry jam and pickled watermelon and ginger tea.  Everyone worked very hard except the Brindle London Squatting Cat, who finished his cake and went to sleep.

That night they went to bed feeling snug and safe and rather excited.  They had gotten ready just in time, for very early the next morning it began to rain gently. By lunchtime the drops were coming down hard and fast.  They built a cheerful fire and the Old Lady read sea stories out loud. It was like a holiday. From time to time they looked out the window at the gray rain falling and falling.  What a splendid storm! They felt adventurous themselves, as if the house were a tall old ship that they were bravely keeping afloat.”

What happens next?

It’s one of our favorite children’s books, but is now out of print.  Copies are available second hand (we’ve provided an Amazon link, if you purchase through this Amazon affiliate link we will earn a commission from Amazon for referring your business there).

Did you read Alexander and the Magic Mouse as a child?  Let us know in the comments below.