The Mouse in the Firehouse: Once upon a time in a firehouse in a far-off city, there lived a mouse.

Not every human family has a mouse who puts their children to sleep with bedtime stories. Our family was privileged to have a story-telling mouse named Bill, who could speak and read English. Bill popped out of his mouse hole most nights to regale us with stories in which the characters often bore the same names as the members of our family.