--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once, several years ago, I was looking…" description: "\"“Once, several years ago, I was looking around for something and moved a piece of furniture only to behold behind it a fuzzy little ball of...what? I l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/eve-o-schaub-38919_bad-idea_once-several-years-ago-i-was-looking-aro_1042065.jpg" --- # Once, several years ago, I was looking around for… ![“Once, several years ago, I was looking around for something and moved a piece of furniture only to behold behind it a fuzzy little ball of...what? I looked closer, which is always a bad idea, adn jumped back with a screech. Of course, it was a dead mouse. A dead mouse that had been there long…” quote by Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/eve-o-schaub-38919_bad-idea_once-several-years-ago-i-was-looking-aro_1042065.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/eve-o-schaub-38919_bad-idea_once-several-years-ago-i-was-looking-aro_1042065.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7a/eve-o-schaub-38919_bad-idea_once-several-years-ago-i-was-looking-aro_1042065.jpg) > ““Once, several years ago, I was looking around for something and moved a piece of furniture only to behold behind it a fuzzy little ball of...what? I looked closer, which is always a bad idea, adn jumped back with a screech. Of course, it was a dead mouse. A dead mouse that had been there long enough that it looked a little--what?--petrified. So I did what any normal person would do in a similar circumstance. I immediately, that very minute, sat down and wrote a story about it. I wrote and wrote until I was pleased with the dead mouse story. And then I used a piece of cardboard to life and slide the little mouse corpse into a small white box--the kind you use for jewelry. After all, I reasoned, I had just written a story about him! It felt like something worse than abandonment to get rid of him now...we were linked! Connected through the sacred ritual of storytelling. And anyway, what if this story ended up, you know, famous? What if my dead mouse story ended up being my "The Lottery"? Wouldn't it be incredibly neat to still have the original thing that inspired it? Yes, this is the way I think. So you can see the situation is bad. I have at least one dead rodent that I have kept ON PURPOSE.”” [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author turned a disturbing discovery into a creative catalyst, using storytelling to give meaning to an unsettling object. **In simple terms:** Turning a creepy find into a story. Key Takeaway Write about odd experiences to transform them. Themes creativity storytelling object attachment ritual transformation Mood reflective curious slightly uneasy Type personal anecdote creative process philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshop - personal journaling - art therapy - museum curation - memory preservation Key Concepts Narrative therapy symbolic attachment creative alchemy Questions to Reflect On - How can you use unsettling moments for artistic growth? - When does attachment hinder letting go? A Different Perspective The story may become a fixation rather than a release. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) [Clutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clutter/) [Dead Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-mouse-1090023/) [Looking Around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-around/) [Mouse Corpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse-corpse-2441553/) [Mouse Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse-dead-2441554/) [Mouse Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse-story-2441552/) [Normal person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-person/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Wrote Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-story/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [There was something dead in my heart. I tried to figure out what it was by the strength of the smell. 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Okay, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-mckean/i-suppose-cats-have-sayings-like-a-dead-mouse-has-no-entertainment/) [Dave McKean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-mckean/) > [“When Uncle W. G. held out his hand to take my money, I dropped the dead mouse in his hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-b-russell/when-uncle-w-g-held-out-his-hand-to-take-my-money-i-dropped-the-dead/) [Earl B. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-b-russell/) > [“Other things are probably better off left alone. Like a dead mouse at the back of a cupboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/other-things-are-probably-better-off-left-alone-like-a-dead-mouse-at/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [I was probably 35 when I wrote the first story. The voice is kind of a mix in that it has a young voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-was-probably-35-when-i-wrote-the-first-story-the-voice-is-kind-of-a/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [On lady novelists: As artists they're rot, but as providers they're oil wells; they gush. Norris said she never wrote a story unless it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/on-lady-novelists-as-artists-they-re-rot-but-as-providers-they-re-oil/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [When I wrote my first story, all the characters were teenagers because I think 16, 17 is a great age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/when-i-wrote-my-first-story-all-the-characters-were-teenagers-because/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I wrote 'The story of O' alone, for Dominique Aury, to interest him, to please him, to occupy him. I wasn't young, nor particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/i-wrote-the-story-of-o-alone-for-dominique-aury-to-interest-him-to/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [I wrote my first story in second grade, and was trying novel-length by sixth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-hodge/i-wrote-my-first-story-in-second-grade-and-was-trying-novel-length-by/) [Brian Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-hodge/) > [I wrote a story about a character who looks like Harry Styles. But it has nothing to do with Harry Styles at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/i-wrote-a-story-about-a-character-who-looks-like-harry-styles-but-it/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Once I had all the facts in, I found I didn't have the immoral courage to pull the caper. So I wrote it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/once-i-had-all-the-facts-in-i-found-i-didn-t-have-the-immoral-courage/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I've just always written, and always considered myself a writer. I wrote my first story when I was five. There was nothing else I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-ve-just-always-written-and-always-considered-myself-a-writer-i/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [I always wrote; my first story was published in the magazine The American Girl when I was 11](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-always-wrote-my-first-story-was-published-in-the-magazine-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) ## More by Eve O. Schaub > [“I have a fond daydream of a day when, like normal, unclutterd folks, I can bring people through my house without hesitation, without secrecy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/i-have-a-fond-daydream-of-a-day-when-like-normal-unclutterd-folks-i/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“As I worked I continued to be a bit terrified in the back of my mind that it would be awful in the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/as-i-worked-i-continued-to-be-a-bit-terrified-in-the-back-of-my-mind/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“In one way or other I was going to have to confront every one of the things I had deemed worth keeping--or, at least,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/in-one-way-or-other-i-was-going-to-have-to-confront-every-one-of-the/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“I don't like to brag or anything--but I really am exceptionally gifted when it comes to the "Stuff" department. If I had a title,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/i-don-t-like-to-brag-or-anything-but-i-really-am-exceptionally-gifted/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“It was a mess, but it was a happy, cozy mess. A mess of lovely, largely happy memories. I felt lucky to have them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/it-was-a-mess-but-it-was-a-happy-cozy-mess-a-mess-of-lovely-largely/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“There are many shortcuts in life, but perhaps none that come free of consequences. Sugar is one of those things we have manipulated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/there-are-many-shortcuts-in-life-but-perhaps-none-that-come-free-of/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“Important. It’s all terribly important. Until suddenly, one day, it isn’t. Who”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/important-it-s-all-terribly-important-until-suddenly-one-day-it-isn-t/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“I began the process of cutting up my random fabrics into strips. Of course, I chose easy things first, items that didn't' hurt me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/i-began-the-process-of-cutting-up-my-random-fabrics-into-strips-of/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t seem to remember much about how you celebrate things without buying a bunch of unnecessary stuff and without consuming a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/unfortunately-our-culture-doesn-t-seem-to-remember-much-about-how-you/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) > [“After all, alcohol is a potentially addictive poison, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying a glass of it with dinner on a regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-o-schaub/after-all-alcohol-is-a-potentially-addictive-poison-but-that-doesn-t/) [Eve O. Schaub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) [Explore all 11 Eve O. Schaub quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-o-schaub/) ## More Bad idea quotes > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [One thing I know is that it is a bad idea to marry someone who had bad parents. If they hated their mother, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gilchrist/one-thing-i-know-is-that-it-is-a-bad-idea-to-marry-someone-who-had/) [Ellen Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gilchrist/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [It's not a bad idea to call this Cthulhuism & Yog-Sothothery of mine "The Mythology of Hastur" - although it was really from Machen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-s-not-a-bad-idea-to-call-this-cthulhuism-yog-sothothery-of-mine/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [More than any other personality trait, my mother seemed to be ruled by anger and sadness. She seemed to hate being a mother. Watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrill-markoe/more-than-any-other-personality-trait-my-mother-seemed-to-be-ruled-by/) [Merrill Markoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrill-markoe/) > [“Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to inflict my rantings on you, even though we are destined to spend the rest of our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/sorry-he-apologized-i-didn-t-mean-to-inflict-my-rantings-on-you-even/) [connie willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [“Jesus. Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, L.A., and Seattle, plus two small towns she'd never heard of in the Gulf Coast region. The unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/jesus-chicago-kansas-city-denver-phoenix-l-a-and-seattle-plus-two/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Civilization is an experiment, a very recent way of life in the human career, and it has a habit of walking into what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-wright/civilization-is-an-experiment-a-very-recent-way-of-life-in-the-human/) [Ronald Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-wright/) > [Idea-Advocacy Matrix highlights a couple of things: that good ideas need to be "sold" if they are ever going to see the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/idea-advocacy-matrix-highlights-a-couple-of-things-that-good-ideas/) [John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/) > [“It is not a bad idea to get into the habbit of writing one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-colegate/it-is-not-a-bad-idea-to-get-into-the-habbit-of-writing-one-s-thoughts/) [Isabel Colegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-colegate/) > [“Medical research has revealed that in about one-tenth of the population, the liver processes alcohol differently, releasing a chemical messenger that creates the craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylie-jones/medical-research-has-revealed-that-in-about-one-tenth-of-the/) [Kaylie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylie-jones/) > [“Sometimes I have good ideas, sometimes I have bad ideas and sometimes I have colossally bad ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-cellier/sometimes-i-have-good-ideas-sometimes-i-have-bad-ideas-and-sometimes/) [Melanie Cellier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-cellier/) > [I have done conferences explaining that cloud is a bad idea. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-demon-calce/i-have-done-conferences-explaining-that-cloud-is-a-bad-idea-it-s/) [Michael Demon Calce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-demon-calce/) > [Minimum sales prices for alcohol are a startlingly bad idea. As with excise duties, the effects are regressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/minimum-sales-prices-for-alcohol-are-a-startlingly-bad-idea-as-with/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) [Browse all 550 Bad idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once, several years ago, I was looking around for something and moved a piece of furniture only to behold behind it a fuzzy little ball of...what? I looked closer, which is always a bad idea, adn jumped back with a screech. Of course, it was a dead mouse. A dead mouse that had been there long enough that it looked a little--what?--petrified. So I did what any normal person would do in a similar circumstance. I immediately, that very minute, sat down and wrote a story about it. I wrote and wrote until I was pleased with the dead mouse story. And then I used a piece of cardboard to life and slide the little mouse corpse into a small white box--the kind you use for jewelry. After all, I reasoned, I had just written a story about him! It felt like something worse than abandonment to get rid of him now...we were linked! Connected through the sacred ritual of storytelling. And anyway, what if this story ended up, you know, famous? What if my dead mouse story ended up being my \"The Lottery\"? Wouldn't it be incredibly neat to still have the original thing that inspired it? Yes, this is the way I think. So you can see the situation is bad. 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