The Mouse that Roared?

UPDATE 1-13-2006 - it turns out this was a massive rumor, picked up and reported by the "traditional media", creating world wide interest. Not surprising, because how believable was it really?

UPDATE 1-12-2006, also very interesting.

I find this story very interesting. Apparently, an 81 year old man catches a mouse, and then tries to dispose of it by throwing it in a pile of burning leaves. But hold on - that little bugger gets the last laugh - it runs out of the burning leaves (ablaze itself), runs back into the house, setting the house on fire and burning it to the ground.

Hmmm. Let's dissect this story a little bit. The story does not say how the mouse was caught. Having some experience with the noble art of mouse catching, there are only five ways I can see:

Traditional spring trap - where the mouse is rendered usually dead or highly injured due to the spring smashing down on it.
Glue Trap - where the critter gets itself stuck in a spread of glue on a high tech piece of cardboard and becomes immobilized (but left alive for those of you who cannot stomach death, but love the idea of enduring agony).
"Humane" Trap - where the mouse is caught alive in a trap and unharmed, but cannot escape, so it can be humanely let out in the wild somewhere, where it will get eaten by an owl or snake or other horror.
A Cat - the old fashioned way.
By Hand - where you just swoop down and grab the thing by the tail.

OK, now that we know the various ways in which this mouse could have been captured, let's apply them to this situation:

• The traditional spring trap would have killed the thing or rendered it immobile, it could not have run back to the house.
• The glue trap would have required the effort of separating the varmint from the trap, which would really be a waste of time - besides, it could not have run back.
• The "humane" trap is an unlikely thing too because why use this type of trap if you are just going to burn the thing alive? Unless you are a sadist.
• A cat would have also likely left the thing in a state unlikely to run burning from a fire.
• Perhaps the thing was caught by hand, but have you ever tried to catch a mouse by hand? At 81?

So, maybe you can see why I find this story "interesting" to say the least. I must admit that I cannot even imagine throwing a live animal into a fire, even a mouse. Maybe in a life or death struggle - like wrestling a grizzly bear while defending a baby - I might be able to do it. But just a mouse? You reap what you sew, I guess.

I hope his home owners insurance covers Fire by Mouse.