"Oooh! This one's my favorite!", Melody Star exclaimed as she began to read.
A Manticore asleep in his den was awoken by a tiny mouse running on his wing. Losing his temper he seized it with a paw and was about to crush it. The terrified mouse begged for her life to be spared. "Please let me go," she cried, "And one day I will return the favor!" The idea of such a tiny creature being able to help amused the manticore so much that he spared her life, out of humor. But the mouse would soon get ber chance to show her worth. One afternoon the Manticore got trapped in a trappers' snare and the mouse recognized his growls of despair and ran to the spot. Without hesitation, she set to work gnawing at the rope with her teeth and in no time, set the manticore free. "There!" said the mouse, "You laughed when I said I'd help. Yet now you see, even a mouse can help a manticore."