The mouse had a problem.
Not a serious problem.
Nothing involving cats.
Nothing involving taxes.
Far worse.
It had fallen in love.
The situation began on a Tuesday.
Most unfortunate events do.
The mouse was walking through the village when it noticed a portrait hanging outside an art shop.
A beautiful mouse.
Elegant.
Confident.
Wearing a yellow skirt.
And most alarming of all—
she appeared to be winking.
The mouse stopped immediately.
Its heart performed several unauthorized activities.
“Who is she?” it asked.
The elephant painter looked up from a bucket of paint.
“She isn’t anyone.”
The mouse blinked.
The elephant pointed at the canvas.
“I made her up.”
The mouse stared at the painting.
Then stared harder.
This did not improve the situation.
For the next week it returned every day.
It brought flowers.
The portrait remained appreciative but silent.
It brought cheese.
The portrait accepted nothing.
It practiced clever conversation.
The portrait contributed very little.
Friends became concerned.
One squirrel suggested meeting real mice.
The mouse considered this radical.
The portrait already seemed perfect.
Meanwhile the elephant observed the entire drama.
Artists enjoy observation.
It is one of their favorite hobbies.
Finally, after several weeks, the elephant decided something had to be done.
The next morning the mouse arrived carrying a bouquet.
The painting was gone.
The mouse nearly fainted.
“What happened?”
The elephant smiled.
“I sold it.”
The mouse sat down immediately.
This seemed like a reasonable reaction.
After a long silence it finally asked:
“To whom?”
The elephant pointed behind him.
Another mouse stood there.
Yellow skirt.
Bright smile.
Very much alive.
And unmistakably familiar.
The mouse looked at her.
Then looked at the elephant.
Then back at her.
The resemblance was impossible to miss.
The elephant shrugged.
“I didn’t invent the painting.”
The mouse frowned.
“You said you did.”
“I painted her.”
The elephant grinned.
“She was standing there the whole time.”
The second mouse waved.
The first mouse nearly dropped the flowers.
Which turned out to be fortunate.
She liked flowers.
Years later the mouse would still claim it had fallen in love with a masterpiece.
The elephant never argued.
Technically speaking, he had simply helped the masterpiece hold still long enough for the paint to dry.
Livora Gracely 
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