Summary

The Little Mice – The narrator and his wife have rented out one of their rooms to a Mexican couple for the past three years. The Mexicans are so quiet the narrator and his wife have never heard even a spoken word or a dropped pan from them. It intrigues the narrator, and leads him to nickname the couple “the mice”. The Mexican husband works at U.S. Steel, while his wife sews in a dress loft. The Mexican husband pays his rent three months in advance. A plumber explains to the narrator that, while doing repair work for the Mexicans, he discovered the Mexicans did not have a single lightbulb anywhere in their apartment. In late December, a fire breaks out. The narrator rushes to warn the Mexican couple. He discovers their house is full of empty wine bottles. The...