PROGRAM SUCCESS – MAY 2010
The KING, the
MICE and the CHEESE
PAGE 39
Now the lions were very happy living with the king, but
not the king living with lions. They were big and scary.
As a young child, one of the very first books I read turned
Again the call goes out to the wise men, they say this is
out to be one that had a profound affect on my life then and
easy, they bring in elephants. The lion-chasing elephants
devoid my knowledge, even more so as an adult. This book
run every lion from the palace.
titled: The KING, the MICE and the CHEESE, taught me
the values of relationships and purpose. Written by Nancy
“The elephants were very, very happy living with the king.
and Eric Gurney in 1965, published by Random House, Inc.
But the king was most unhappy living with elephants.
of New York, the book is very well illustrated.
They were dusty and they smelled. How do you get rid of
elephants, yelled the king? We can do it, said the wise men.
The story goes along these lines, “Once upon a time, in a
We will do it right away. They brought back all the mice.”
faraway country, there lived a king. He lived in a beautiful
The elephant-chasing mice went right to work and ran
palace. He had everything he liked. He liked cheese best of
every elephant from the palace.
all. His cheese makers made the best cheese in all the land.
Everyone in the palace could smell that cheese. Everyone in
The king was right back where he started… mice
the town could smell that cheese. Everyone in the coun