How much joy has the Perez Mouse given to boys and girls of various generations, distributing presents in all homes in exchange for a milk tooth that, for its owner, has no use at all!
However, the most secretive, generous, enigmatic, famous and beloved rodent of childhood is being the subject of controversy for a handwritten letter whose authorship is attributed to him, in which he refuses to pick up a girl’s tooth due to lack of hygiene because “it has been analyzed by the team of experts and did not pass the test”.
The message says as follows:
“Hello, Elisa. I’m glad to hear from you. Today I want to apologize for not taking your tooth with me. It was analyzed by the team of experts and it did not pass the test due to lack of attention and care. We found remains of leftovers, spaghetti and cereals. On this occasion it will not be possible to make the payment. We recommend that you brush your teeth three times a day and that you use the dental brushing technique.
I hope to return soon, Elisa
Take care. Sincerely, El Raton Perez
” Twitter and has unleashed a wave of criticism towards the method used by its author to instill in poor Elisa the good habit of oral hygiene.
The networks have been divided between those who support this subliminal tactic for Elisa to introduce dental cleaning into her routines and those who think that a previous adequate education would have saved her the tremendous upset that the little girl would surely have had when receiving this refusal in response to his innocent gesture.
Kill me truck
♀️
♀️ pic.twitter.com/68rjgZFZbo
– Amargaita you have me (@TeneisMe) July 18, 2021
The origin of Raton Perez, a tradition
with more than three centuries
The birth of the Mouse Perez is not dated, although several conjectures date back to three centuries ago: specifically, in an eighteenth-century French story by Baroness d’Aulnoy entitled ‘La Bonne Petite Souris’ (The good little mouse ).
In Spain, his introduction to children’s mythology has been attributed to Luis Coloma (also author of Pequeneces or Jeromin), when around 1894 the Jesuit was asked to write a story for the future King Alfonso XIII, who was then 8 years old, and to whom a tooth fell out.
However, in the novel La de Bringas by Benito Perez Galdos,4 written in 1884 and set in 1868, the author compares a character, Francisco Bringas, greedy and stingy, with the mouse Perez, so he must have been popular with the public since before Father Coloma’s story.
Within the memory plan of Madrid, the town hall of the Villa placed a plaque at number 8 on Calle del Arenal, the address where Luis Coloma located the rodent’s dwelling; 5 on the plaque it can be read: “Here he lived, inside a box biscuits at the Prast el Raton Perez confectionery, according to the story that Father Coloma wrote for the boy King Alfonso XIII”
For years, a small door has been found at the bottom of one of the entrances to the Banco de Espana station, specifically the entrance located next to the General Army Headquarters and in front of the Bank of Spain. The anonymous person who placed this door reflected “that it was the door of the Little Mouse Perez”, which has become a curiosity for visitors.
