Once upon a time, there was a mouse who heard a huge roaring sound in his ears–a roaring sound so great that he could not get it out of his mind. When he asked the other mice if they could hear the roaring too, they all said no. The other mice all agreed that the mouse had gone crazy.
And so, the mouse set off to find where the roaring was coming from. He eventually came to a great river and this is where the huge sound (that only he could hear) was coming from–the great replenishing, cleansing, life-giving river.
The mouse is told that there is more to life than even this river. If he crouches down real low and then leaps up as hard as he can, he will see his true home. So, using his little skinny pink legs, the mouse leaps up as hard as he can. He suddenly sees, for just a moment, far away, the shining mountains. His heart opens with great love, and he knows he must go there.
On his dangerous journey he finds a village of old mice that live sheltered lives. They promise he will be safe and always have enough to eat if he will only stay and never leave. But he has seen the source of the roaring inside him, and he has glimpsed his true home. So, he tears himself away and continues his journey across a large desert with many dangers and hazards, until at last he comes to his true place.
Adapted from: Pinkola Estés, C. (2001). Story as Medicine.