(Exposition)

Mouse-rat was hungry. He wanted to eat cheese. His brothers and sisters wanted cheese too. Mouse-rat was the oldest and strongest. He wanted everyone to have some cheese. The tasty cheese that was only found in the Great House-cat's Hall.

Then, the littlest of them all, Bob, told Mouse-rat that House-cat would be waiting. "If House-cat catches you, you will be kicked out!" But Mouse-rat ignored Bob's warnings.

"House-cat will be waiting for you and test you! If you can't answer, you might not come back home!" Bob warned. 

"Hah! House-cat is no match for me! I'll sneak past and take the cheese in no time, I can run faster than any of you, "Mouse-rat bragged. "Tests don't scare me!" He pushed little Bob to the side and took off. 

(Conflict Introduced) 

Mouse-rat arrived at the Great House-cat's Hall. It was cold and dusty. The hall was dark and he couldn't see the door. He tried to run further, but the hall seemed to never end. A pair of eyes glowed in the darkness and he heard a voice, "Who are you? What are you here for?" 

"I am Mouse-rat," he said. "I am here for cheese." He tried to run past the eyes, but failed. He could not get out.

"Only if you answer my questions. Can you tell me where the fish of the Tao River swims to?"

Mouse-rat didn't know. He said, "Let me pass. I have no time for your test."

"Wrong. How does talking pass down stories for 50,000 years? What does it show?"

Mouse-rat was angry now. He answered, "What does that mean!? Let me pass!"

House-cat's eyes closed and the room went completely dark. Mouse-rat ran to escape. He could not see anything! Suddenly, he fainted. 

(Rising Action 1)

Mouse-rat woke up in a land with trees and a flowing river. He peeked into the water and an orange fish popped up. "Ah!" He shouted. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"This is the Tao River" the fish replied. "I am a fish."

"I need to get home. Where are you swimming to?" Mouse-rat asked. 

"I'm following the way the water takes me. Wu Wei." The fish splashed. "It means to be non-forcing. Water flows around problems and always finds a way, so I follow water ("Taoism"). It will help me reach Tao, the way of the world and life (Smith). That is Taoism. You must practice the things you do every day to get effortless actions, called Wu Wei ("Wu Wei"). Water is powerful because it stays true to itself. But, you can't be greedy," the fish said. "To be water is to follow as things come to you ("Wu Wei"). You can't force your way to get what you want ("Wu Wei")."

!!

"Swimming this fast takes me around the world in a week. I swim every day and train. I hope you find your way home. Goodbye," the fish said before going under the water. Mouse-rat wanted to follow the fish. He thought about the skills he had. He wanted to get home quickly. He could not swim like the fish. So, he ran. He ran as far as he could, following the water. 

Mouse-rat thought about the fish. The 'Wu Wei' it was talking about. Effortless action means you'd be good at your skill, but to be like water and keep going, and you can't force things; they should follow nature ("Taoism"). 
Listen to the world around you and connect with nature ("Wu Wei"). That was something the fish told him to do. Mouse-rat slowed down and started walking quietly, ears listening to the sounds all around. He walked along the water to find his home. 

(Rising Action 2) 

Mouse-rat walked until the river stopped. There was a road. "A road! I must be close to home!" Mouse-rat cheered. He ran down the path, but an ant was in the way. "Stop! You shall not pass!" it said. "You have stepped onto the land of our Aboriginal tribe!"

"Huh? Let me go, I need to go home!" Mouse-rat shouted back.

"Follow me," the ant told. Mouse-rat followed the ant. He didn't know where else to go.

He was led through the forest by the ant. When he tried to speak, the ant would shush Mouse-rat. "Be quiet and follow me," the ant would say. 

Mouse-rat was scared. He wanted to get home. He was also confused. Who were the Aboriginals? Where was he being taken? He followed the ant to its place. He would talk with it and find a way home after. 

The ant led Mouse-rat to a place in the forest. Three other ants were standing in a group talking to each other. They didn't see Mouse-rat yet. "We are Aboriginals, our people have lived on this planet for over 50,000 years from Australia and spread all around the world," the first ant explained (Ahmad). "Our stories of spirits and nature have been passed down all these years. We tell them by speaking, by dancing of myths and legends ("A Brief"). Before writing existed, we spoke to each other. We shared everything by telling each other, without writing (Smith)." Mouse-rat watched as the ants told their stories. He heard stories of animals and plants they saw and respected (Ahmad). The Aboriginals seemed to care a lot for nature and life around, even for past family members who lived long ago (Ahmad). They respected creation, ancestral beings, and animals or other plants and life (Ahmad). 

Creation is about life and the world, and a great creator who made everything. Ancestral beings are family, or ancestors, who are gone, now living in the spirit world. Totems are made to show respect to special animals and the connection between them and other life (Ahmad). They're used by some, but not all Aboriginals, but they all respect the life (Smith). The group talked some more. Creation of life was done by the great creator during a 'dreamtime' (Ahmad). They talked about this creator a lot, and Mouse-rat wondered about it. The creator made life and the world. Life is the art of creation. That's why they respected it so much.

When the ants saw Mouse-rat, they ran away. They didn't see him until now. Then, the ant next to Mouse-rat spoke, "Follow me. There is another path up ahead. I hope you liked the stories we've shared. This way of sharing stories is called orality. Telling by speech." 

(Rising Action 3)

Mouse-rat was glad. He thought about his journey. First was the fish in the Tao River who told him about Wu Wei to connect with the world. It was like how the Aboriginal group talked about their respect for nature in the world. Their respect for all life and creation. Mouse-rat was excited about what he learned. He wanted to tell his siblings about this. The ant stopped at an open area. There was a house in the middle of it. "You are on your own from here," the ant said before turning and walking back. Mouse-rat walked closer to the old house. He wanted to check for someone to help him. He went up to the door and knocked. The door creaked open for him and Mouse-rat walked into the house. Inside, there was a chicken sitting on a chair in the room. There was also a table with three books. 

"Hello," the chicken said. "Where have you come from? What do you need?" 

"I'm Mouse-rat, and I'm trying to get home to my family" he said.

"Are you sure you want to go back now? Why not stay for a little bit?"

Mouse-rat sat down on the other side of the table. "What are these books you have?" he asked. 

"These? One of them is a holy book, about Judaism, called the Torah," the chicken said. "Judaism is a religion that I believe in. Jewish people worship a God who created this world and everything in it. We believe in only one God, at the highest level. Our quest is to find meaning and understand Him (Smith). Importance for meaning is what led the religion to greatness ("Judaism")." 

Mouse-rat thought about it. Could the God be the same as the creator that the aboriginal group talked about?