Dance of forest mouse

Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin 1990: Metsähiiren tanssi

 The forest animals have benn picking up mushrooms and now they are planning to have a party.

The forest mouse has been on a foul mood all day: he/she hasn't picked any mushrooms and does not want to attend the party. The others try to persuade it to join them, but then leave it alone.

The forest mouse lies on the ground feeling small. Suddenly the wind blows leaves on top of it. The mouse starts to chase them, jumping, bouncing. It looks like dancing. The rabbit admires mouse's dance, it has returned to get the mouse to the party. The mouse joins the others.

The rabbit shows the others how the mouse was dancing. And soon all the animals are dancing. The forest mouse is feeling light and happy. It eats soup as much as it can from all the laughing.

Dancing is something that Finns are not comfortable doing. But dancing is the only way to get real close to another person. The Finnish tango is in my mind the most romantic dance there is. You must not confuse it with the Argentinian tango, since the Finnish tango resembles slightly the German march. Any way the magic of Finnsh tango can only be experinced with the right person. And that is the hardest part in dancing.

Picking up mushrooms is something very Finnish, too. The forest are full of these super food, the only down side is that you really have to look for them. The mushrooms are not jumping to your basket, but you really have to look for them. But it is also very rewarding, when you first see a small yellow spot between the straws and suddenly you see the whole ground covered with golden chantarelles.