Mouse Soup

Mouse Soup is a 1977 picture book by noted illustrator Arnold Lobel. Beginning with the simple sentence "A mouse sat under a tree", the book goes on to tell the story of a mouse who has to trick Weasel from turning Mouse into Mouse Soup. He does that by telling stories about Bees and the Mud, Two Large Stones, The Crickets, and The Thorn Bush, and tells Weasel to put them into his soup. It is then assumed that Mouse got away and Weasel got stung by bees.[1][2]

Mouse Soup
Cover
AuthorArnold Lobel
IllustratorArnold Lobel
SeriesI Can Read!
GenrePicture book
PublisherHarper & Row
Publication date
1977
Pages64 pp.
ISBN978-0-06-023967-1
OCLC2542419

Plot

A male mouse leaves his house to sit under a tree to read a book. While he reads, a weasel suddenly captures him. The weasel then takes the mouse back to his home, thinking of making Mouse Soup with the mouse. Just as the weasel puts the mouse into the pot, the rodent tells the crafty weasel that the soup will not taste good without any stories in it at all. The weasel does feel hungry, but agrees to let the mouse tell him four stories that will go in the pot.

In the first story, a second male mouse is walking along when a bee nest falls on his head. He tries to reason with the bees to go away, but the bees like his head as their home. The mouse then comes up with a plan to go into a mud hole (making the bees think it's his home). As he goes deeper, the bees still like the mouse until they hate his bed (the rodent being submerged in the mud) and finally go away, allowing the mouse to go home to take a bath.

In the second story, two large stones sit on a hill and wonder what's on the other side, as they can't move from the spot where they sit. When they ask a bird to check, the avian soon returns and tells them about buildings and cities on the other side. The thought of not being able to see those things makes the stones sad. A hundred years soon pass and when a third male mouse comes, the stones ask him to check the other side of the hill. The rodent soon tells them that it is the same as the side the stones reside on. This make the stones feel glad that they're not missing anything, but wonder whether the mammal or the bird was right.

In the third story, a cricket gets the urge to sing a song in the middle of the night. But his singing disturbs a female mouse, who is trying to get some sleep. Each time the lady mouse demands not to have any more music, the cricket thinks she said she wants more music and so calls over a lot of friends. Soon, the crickets are making so much noise with their singing that the lady mouse simply shouts at them to go away, to which the cricket wonders why she didn't say so before. After the crickets go away, the mouse goes back to bed.

In the fourth story, a male police mouse comes to the home of an old and female mouse because she is crying. She shows him a thorn bush that is growing out of her chair and explains she's crying because it's dying. Right away, the police mouse advises her to throw some water on the thorn bush, causing it to grow into a bunch of roses. To thank the police mouse, the old female mouse gives him both a kiss on the cheek and some of the roses as his payments.

After finishing his stories, the mouse tells the weasel to bring in the things that were associated with the stories. The weasel leaves his house, without closing the door on the way out, allowing the mouse to escape and follow the weasel at a distance. The rodent then witnesses the predator suffering for his fool's errand. After getting stung by bees, gathering up wet sticky mud, struggling with two heavy stones, jumping to catch crickets, and getting pricked by a thorn bush, the weasel thinks he'll have a tasty soup. Upon arriving home, the weasel, seeing the empty pot, realizes he has been tricked. The mouse, at this time, hurries back to his own house and, after having some dinner, finishes reading his book.[3]

Audio recording

In 1978, Scholastic Records issued a 7-inch 33​1⁄3 r.p.m. record (SCC 2807) of the author reading the story. It was directed by Bernice Chardiet, produced by Robert Mack, and contained music by Albert Hague.[4]

Stop motion film

In 1992, the book was made into a 26-minute musical stop motion animated film by Churchill Films, directed by John Clark Matthews and starring Buddy Hackett as the voice of Mouse.[5][6]

gollark: Making honey?
gollark: So if I say Spanish and you happen to understand it, it's valid English?
gollark: It also then says "good bees" there, see.
gollark: The thing I'm using is a bit slow for some reason.
gollark: Doing so.

References
  1. "About Books For Children; Mouse Soup". Garden City Telegram. 15 Jul 1977. p. 23. Retrieved 2019-10-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel". Scholastic Corporation. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  3. Lobel, Arnold (1977). Mouse Soup. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-023967-1. OCLC 2542419.
  4. Lobel, Arnold (1978). Mouse Soup (LP record). Bernice Chardiet, director; Albert Hague, music. Scholastic Record & Book Companion Series. OCLC 5972372.
  5. Matthews, John Clark (1992). Mouse Soup (Stop motion film).
  6. "Long Ago And Far Away: "Mouse Soup" World premiere". Rapid City Journal. 1992-10-17. p. 50. Retrieved 2019-10-09 – via Newspapers.com.
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