Empower Yourself: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Life Lesson | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'

He's going to ask for a glass of milk

85182
mouse with a cookie

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone does not try to help their self before asking others. How can someone else be expected to help you if you do not first do that yourself? I'm all about helping those that need it when the time comes, however whenever someone does not even attempt to help him or herself first then that becomes a huge problem. As we all have learned, people tend to take advantage of us in one way or another. I am sure we all read this short story when we were younger and it follows that same principle:

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, book coverwww.flickr.com
"If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.
When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw.
When he's finished, he'll ask you for a napkin.
Then he'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache.
When he looks in the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim.
So he'll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors.
When he's finished giving himself a trim, he'll want a broom to sweep it up.
He'll start sweeping.
He might get carried away and sweep every room in the house.
He may even end up washing the floors as well!
When he's done, he'll probably want to take a nap.
You'll have to fix up a little box for him with a blanket and a pillow.
He'll crawl in, make himself comfortable and fluff the pillow a few times.
He'll probably ask you to read him a story.
So you'll read to him from one of your books, and he'll ask to see the pictures.
When he looks at the pictures, he'll get so excited he'll want to sign his name with a pen.
Then he'll want to hang his picture on your refrigerator.
Which means he'll need Scotch tape.
He'll hang up his drawing and stand back to look at it.
Looking at the refrigerator will remind him that he's thirsty.
So... he'll ask for a glass of milk.
And chances are if he asks you for a glass of milk, he's going to want a cookie to go with it."
f You Give A Mouse A Cookie, joyful mousecommons.wikimedia.org

When we were very young, there was a time when this book entertained and made us laugh; we did not think anything else of it. However, this short story offers a life-long lesson: Do not set yourself on fire to keep others warm.

Looking back on things, there have been so many times where people just wanted to take advantage of me. For instance, as I was going through high school I was fairly smart/nerdy and athletic (which is not a common mixture). If someone needed help with school work they would often come to me. I would help them and most of the time they would not even try to help themselves. I was giving them a cookie and they were just coming back for milk.

Illustrated page from book: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, bookcommons.wikimedia.org

This happens to be the case at college during finals week as well. Those people that never come to the library start going and ask anyone and everyone for help. Of course, some people just need help here and there, but when you wait the entire semester to start asking for help its your own fault.

Like I said, I'm all for helping someone, but when it comes to not even helping yourself that's a problem.

To sum things up, if you give somebody an inch, they're going to take a mile; it's human nature.

Report this Content
Relationships

The Unwritten Rules Of "Talking"

What is "talking?" How does one "talk?"

4520
girl holding phone
NYCPRGIRLS

Now that it seems “talking” is the new way to date, and will stay that way until another idiotic term is used to describe the people who can’t settle down and just date someone, I feel as if it’s time to go over the unwritten rules of “talking.”

Rule 1. Having feeling without feeling.

Keep Reading...Show less
The Stages of Having FOMO in College
iamthatgirl.com

Are you one of those people that gets super upset when you miss out on anything? Well, you may have FOMO, or fear of missing out. In college it’s not hard to experience FOMO every once in a while. You just love doing everything and anything, so hen you have to miss out on something it's the worst possible thing in your mind. Whether you’re sick, have to work, or have so much work to do you could cry – FOMO will hit you hard in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Vivien Leigh
Revelist

I've lived a whole 21 years with an RBF (Resting Bitch Face), so naturally, I go through most of these struggles on a daily basis.

And before you ask, yes I'm fine. No, I'm not mad. This is just my face, so take it or leave it! To those of you who have been #blessed with an RBF, you'll probably relate to these more than you'd like to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Iconic Duos: Timeless Legends

From Luke and Leia to Beyonce's twins...

774774
Luke and Leia from Star Wars, a iconic duo
Lucasfilm

“Name a more iconic duo... I'll wait." OK, well, if you insist. In no particular order, here's a list of 100 iconic duos that seem to be timeless.

SEE MORE: This Is The ICONIC Disney Sidekick You Are To Your BFF, According To Your Zodiac Sign

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

A Candid Letter to My Best Friends Ex

Because this is the real form of torture you deserve.

1329
middle finger
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

What's up Asshat,

I've composed a list of things that I wish upon you, and they're harsh and cruel. These things are things that I wouldn't wish upon my worst of enemies, not even that Starbuck's barista who always screws up my order, not even him. You fall into a whole other category of hate. You surpass Starbucks barista. Congratulations, I'm actually a pretty nice person, making you worthy of every single bit of torture I wish upon you. What are these things I wish upon you you might ask?

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments