Mouse and Mouser

Mouse and Mouser

Once upon a time there was a little Mouse. She was tidy and quick, and loved to have everything in its proper place.

One morning, Mouse swept her little room, shook out the rug, and wiped the shelf. Suddenly she spotted something shiny under the cupboard.

“Oh! A silver coin!” she cried happily.

The coin was small, but for Mouse it was a real treasure.

“I’ll buy myself something tasty,” she decided and went to the market.

On her way, Mouse passed a large house. Inside the doorway sat a Cat, solemnly spinning thread.

Mouse stopped at a safe distance and politely asked:

“What are you doing, Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Cat? What are you doing today?”

The Cat squinted her green eyes and answered:

“I’m spinning thread, neighbor, neighbor. I’m spinning thread.”

“May it be strong, Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Cat. May it be strong!”

“It will be strong, it will, neighbor, neighbor,” purred the Cat.

And Mouse ran on.

At the market, Mouse wandered among the stalls for a long time. The air smelled of apples, honey, fresh bread, and cinnamon. At last she spotted a round, golden-brown pudding.

“Just the thing!” she said, handing over her silver coin.

Returning home, the Mouse again passed the Cat’s house.

“Where have you been, little neighbor?” asked the Cat.

“I went to the market, Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Cat. I went to the market.”

“You went a long way, neighbor, neighbor. You went a long way.”

“And do you know what I found this morning? A silver coin!”

“Then you’ve grown richer, neighbor, neighbor,” said the Cat, narrowing her eyes even more.

“And I bought a pudding with the coin!”

“Then you’re having a tasty day, neighbor, neighbor,” said the Cat softly.

The Mouse said goodbye politely and took the pudding home.

The pudding was still warm, so the Mouse put it on the windowsill.

“I’ll let it cool a little, and then I’ll have a proper feast,” she decided.

But while Mouse washed a cup and got a napkin ready, the Cat slipped silently around the corner.

Sniff-sniff.

“What a delicious smell…”

The Cat crept up to the window, jumped onto the windowsill and ate every last crumb of the pudding.

When the Mouse returned, there was nothing on the plate.

“Oh dear! Who ate my pudding?”

Only a long cat's whisker remained on the windowsill.

The Mouse understood everything.

The next day she met the Cat again at the door.

“Yesterday I put my pudding out to cool, Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Cat,” Mouse began.

“You should have eaten it sooner, neighbor, neighbor,” replied the Cat.

“And then a certain Cat came along and ate it all, Mrs. Cat, Mrs. Cat.”

The Cat stopped spinning.

“Really?” she drawled.

“Really.”

“And what will you do now, little Mouse?”

Mouse was about to answer when she saw the Cat slowly rise, arch her back, and get ready to pounce.

“And now, neighbor,” purred the Cat, “I’ll catch you too!”

Pounce!

Mouse was small and very nimble. She darted under the bench, slipped through a narrow crack beside the baseboard, and in a moment was safe in her hole.

The Cat was left facing the wall, empty-pawed.

“Some neighbor you are!” she grumbled.

Behind the little door to her hole, Mouse caught her breath and said:

“It’s good to speak politely to everyone. But we should trust those who act kindly too.”

From then on, Mouse never left treats on an open windowsill, and always kept her distance from the Cat.

Whenever she found a shiny coin under the cupboard, she closed the door first and only then set off for the market.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨