Do Vegetarians Eat Animal Crackers?

Yes. We do. But they have to be Organic. :-)

We also eat mice. But they have to be Hazelnut Truffle Mice, FYI.

Mr. Jingles was my pet mouse...well, sort of. He was a mouse that broke into my house because he checked out the whole neighborhood & found that I was the only vegetarian around. He knew I wouldn't kill him on purpose & he also knew I don't keep any chemicals in the house (only green cleaners!) so there was nothing dangerous for him to get into.

I started feeding this furry little creature bits of crackers & cheese thinking that this would suffice. Little did I know that this was a very unusual mouse. He didn't like cheese or crackers much, so they ended up on my bed. Eww. Sticky bits under my quilt was not very cool with me so I knew I had to change tactics. After a few different foods I found out he liked walnuts a lot, but pecans the best. Great, I thought, a mouse with expensive taste. Well, no more bits in my bed anymore so I was happy about that.

About 2 weeks later I woke up to find a package of Newman's Own Organic Peppermint Cups on the floor, next to the bed, the wrapper torn open, the plastic tray pulled half way out of the wrapper & one of the peppermint cups with a hole right through the center. Talk about expensive tastes! (I should explain that I keep a large supply of chocolate bars, truffles, etc. right next to my bed. Well, c'mon...doesn't everyone?)

I decided to start calling him Mr. Jingles (named after the mouse in the book/film 'The Green Mile', being that he was incredibly unique, as well). Weeks went by & I would watch him come out at night to eat nuts, chocolate (yes, I'm a sucker) & drink water (I found this tiny ramekin for him to drink out of *blush*). He never came on the bed & never went in my clothes; we had a mutual understanding. He got bigger as the months went by (& quite a bit wider).

They say if you see one mouse that you have a house full. Not with Mr. Jingles around! I believe he thought it was his territory for some reason & no other mice were allowed entry. How do I know? Well, you should have heard him when another mouse got in! They fought for about 20 minutes until the other mouse left. Umm, or was killed, I guess I'd rather not know. Out runs Mr. Jingles after it was all over, up to the side of my bed, stops & looks at me for a second, then off to his dish & away with a Newman's Dark Peanut Butter Cup in his tiny little mouth.

Mr. Jingles stayed for about a year & a half, then was gone. I never did find his final resting place but he did leave one thing behind; I call him Jingles Jr.