Nobody knows how many mice are on the planet. I searched. Not my house or barn or anything. No. I searched Google. There aren’t even any good guesses. Which means we better be nice to mice. Because there are a lot.
But today, I am only thinking about three of them. For it was on this date, October 29, 1609, when the children’s rhyme was published in London. It appeared in a book edited by and most likely written by Thomas Ravenscroft.
I learned the song when I was young, at some point. Because I’ve known it for as long as I can remember. But, I mostly associate with my Mom. During her late years with dementia, she used to sing Three Blind Mice nearly every day. More than once. Or twice. Or even three times.
I never asked her why she was singing it, I always just joined in. She added particular gusto when she got to the line, “They all ran after the farmer’s wife. She cut off their tails with a carving knife.”
Mom always chuckled after she sang that part, and I made sure to check her room for knives before I left.
Anyway, the tune has been around for more than 400 years — 413, to be exact.
The little ditty was published by Frederick Warne & Co., in an illustrated children’s book by John W. Ivimey entitled: “The Complete Version of Ye Three Blind Mice.” Along with it, at the time, an additional version with music was published, and the editor was Thomas Ravenscroft (c.1582-1635). He was just a teenager at the time of its publication, but many believe he is also the author.
The story is sheer symbolism. The “three blind mice” were Protestant loyalists. They were three men called the Oxford Martyrs. Their last names were Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer. And. These three guys were accused of plotting against Queen Mary I, the daughter of Henry VIII.
The moral of the story? Don’t plot against the Queen. Those three guys were burned at the stake.
The mice’s “blindness” refers to their Protestant beliefs.
The farmer’s wife refers to Queen Mary. The book depicted the three mice as mischievous characters running all about. Those little blind mice are brought in by the farmer’s wife. Of course, she hacks their tales off. Or. Burning at the stake. Whatever.
So, if we think about that time in history, if you disagreed with the King or Queen, you were pretty much writing your own death sentence. If you had a differing opinion of the world or of what was right? Your life would go very wrong.
Here in the United States, our forefathers set up an elaborate yet simple system to ensure people’s rights to their own beliefs and opinions. They made certain our freedoms were protected by the simultaneous workings of three branches of government. Executive. Judicial. Legislative.
Recently, we had a president who wished to override this system. He would be judge and jury in all things. I’m sorry to my readers, who may be Trump loyalists, but this is true. He did this on many occasions throughout his presidency, and when he lost the election, he disregarded the rulings of the federal judges who declared he had lost. He still disregards their rulings. He also disregards all Federal agencies who find evidence proving his crimes. Like the FBI. And the Department of Justice.
He is our modern rendition of “the farmer’s wife.”
Trump was elected as president about two months after my Mom died.
Perhaps, she saw it coming.
===========
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
============
“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
===========
“It isn’t against the Law to be an idiot.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
==========
More than three blind mice. It could be our fate.
