It's all in how you look at it

My neighbor came over to my house today to show me something very precious. It was so tiny it could fit in the palm of her hand with ease. It was the cutest, tiniest little story book looking mouse I have ever seen. I think it was probably about the size of a walnut, although I imagine if it got wet it would look even smaller. I can see why she fell in love with it at the pet store. It really is just a feeder mouse, but it has the cutest face and is truly precious.
Okay, here is the irony. Lately my neighbors have had troubles with mice in their house. They have caught many mice, most of which they caught in a live trap. She said that she caught one that was even tinier than the one she bought, but she was afraid it might have some sort of communicable disease, so didn't keep it. She can't bear to kill them, so takes them down to the walking path in our neighborhood and releases them there.
It's interesting how we look at something as a pest one day, and as a pet the next. Perspective can really change the way we look at things. Case in point: We were telling our chinese friends about something that happened to the early Mormon settlers in Utah. They had planted their crops and depended on them to survive through the winter. But large hordes of crickets came and started to eat all their crops. The settlers couldn't kill the crickets fast enough. They prayed to God for help. Seagulls came and started eating the crickets. Not only did the birds eat the crickets, but they gorged themselves, then went and vomited up all they ate and came back for more. The settlers crops were saved. When we told this story to our chinese friends, one of them said to us, "What a shame, the Mormons could have gotten a wok and fried the crickets and had plenty to eat all winter."
I'll have to admit, I fell in love with my neighbor's mouse. But if I see one running across my kitchen counter, I'm sure I will scream. I guess it's all in how you look at it.