Fauna Friday: Vole in the greengrocers

I went to the greengrocers last week. I was getting some stuff from the crates outside the shop. One woman went in the shop, squealed and came out again. Another woman came out saying 'there's a mouse in there!' Well, I'm not scared of mice, so in I went. I saw this little vole (not a mouse) scurrying along in front of the chilled cabinet, so I said 'Aw, a vole! Aw, it's cute!'  The man said 'the cat keeps bringing in these blinkin' mice and I've been trying to get rid of this one all morning!'  Worried that he might be the sort to take a rolling pin to it, I said 'Would you like me to try?' Confident in my own experience because of our own cat Ludo, without waiting for the answer, I put my basket down and threw myself to the floor, skidding on my knees in rugby tackle position, cupped my hands over it and scooped it up. 'Now, where can I take it? -OUCH!!! It's bitten me, the little ------!' He said there was an alleyway up the side of the shop with some grass so all I could do was plonk it there. I wasn't keen to go round all the back alleys finding somewhere better because it didn't seem to be a very grateful vole and I didn't want to get bitten more, just wanted to get on with my shopping, so I just plonked it in the grass but it started walking back towards the street again. Oh well at last I tried.

Happy St. Andrews Day, folks.