The Creature Constitution Independence Hall Philadelphia, 1786. None of the creatures in the hall were able to sleep. Every night, the mice would run through the spiders' webs. Then the spiders would chase the mice. The crickets would chirp all night. The pigeons in the clock tower would start singing early in the morning. Everyone was tired and unhappy. Maddy the Mouse had the biggest ears in the hall. She heard everything. She worried that no one would ever sleeр. Then the humans began meeting in the hall. Maddy sneaked into the room and listened as they talked. They needed something with rules that everyone would follow. They called it a constitution. Maddy thought a constitution was a great idea. She called a meeting. Every creature came. There were so many animals that they could barely move. "The humans have a great idea," Maddy said. "They are writing a constitution. We should have our own constitution." "What's a constitution?" asked a pigeon. "It's a list of rules for us to live by," Maddy said. "We need rules so we can all sleep." All the creatures agreed. "There are too many of us to talk about the rules right now," Maddy said. "Each group should pick five creatures to talk for them at a meeting tomorrow. They will decide what the new rules will be." The groups each went back to where they lived. They picked animals to speak for their group. The next day, the chosen creatures met. Everyone listened to each other's problems. When the groups started to argue, Maddy reminded them to work together. Each group then shared the rules that they thought would let everyone sleep better. They came up with rules that everyone could agree on. Maddy had found a way for them to all work together. The creatures asked Maddy to be their leader. They would bring new problems to Maddy and the other groups. The night they signed their constitution, the creatures in the building all had a good night's sleep.