The Cat and the Mouse

The Cat and the Mouse

Once upon a time, a Cat and a little Mouse lived near an old barn. They loved to play there.

One morning, the Cat was chasing a ball of yarn, and the Mouse was chasing her own tail.

“Catch me!” squeaked the Mouse.

“Here I come!” meowed the Cat.

They whirled among the sacks, baskets, and wooden barrels so fast that neither noticed the Cat snag the Mouse’s tail with his paw.

Then something straight out of a fairy tale happened: the little tail quietly popped off like a button and stayed in the Cat’s paw.

The Mouse stopped and looked around.

“Kitty, please give me my tail.”

The Cat sat down solemnly, wrapped his tail around his paws, and said:

“I will. But first bring me a little milk. All that running has made me terribly hungry.”

“All right!” said the Mouse.

And off she ran.

First she jumped up,

then ran as fast as she could,

until she reached the Cow.

“Cow, Cow, please give me some milk. I will take the milk to the Cat, the Cat will give me my tail, and I will be a whole Mouse again.”

The Cow chewed a blade of grass thoughtfully.

“I’ll give you milk, Mouse. But I haven’t had my breakfast yet. Bring me some sweet-smelling hay from the Farmer.”

“All right!” said the Mouse.

And she ran on.

First she jumped up,

then ran as fast as she could,

until she reached the Farmer.

“Farmer, Farmer, please give me some hay. I will take the hay to the Cow, the Cow will give me milk, I will take the milk to the Cat, the Cat will give me my tail, and I will be a whole Mouse again.”

The Farmer wiped his brow and smiled.

“I’ll give you hay. But I was just about to have lunch, and my basket is empty. Bring me a slice of pie from the Baker.”

“All right!” said the Mouse.

And she ran again.

First she jumped up,

then she ran as fast as she could,

until she reached the Baker.

The bakery was warm and smelled of bread, buns, and sweet pastry crust.

“Baker, Baker, please give me a piece of pie. I will take it to the Farmer, the Farmer will give me hay, I will take the hay to the Cow, the Cow will give me milk, I will take the milk to the Cat, the Cat will give me my tail, and I will be a whole Mouse again.”

The Baker looked at the Mouse over his round glasses.

“What a task you’ve set yourself! All right, I’ll give you a slice of pie. Just don’t take a bite on the way.”

The Mouse swallowed hungrily.

“I won’t.”

“Not even a tiny bite?”

“Not even a tiny bite.”

“Then here you are.”

The Baker wrapped a piece of pie in paper and handed it to the Mouse.

The Mouse took the pie to the Farmer.

“Thank you!” said the Farmer, giving her an armful of sweet-smelling hay.

The Mouse dragged the hay to the Cow.

“That smells delicious!” said the Cow happily. She ate some hay and poured the Mouse a little mug of milk.

Mouse took the milk and ran to the barn.

As she went, she repeated the steps so she wouldn’t muddle them:

“The Baker gave me pie,

I gave the pie to the Farmer,

the Farmer gave me hay,

I gave hay to the Cow,

the Cow gave me milk,

I gave milk to the Cat,

and the Cat…”

At this, the Mouse quickened her pace.

“And the Cat will give me back my tail!”

The Cat still sat beside the barrel, waiting patiently.

“Well?” he asked.

The Mouse placed a mug in front of him.

“Here’s your milk.”

The Cat sniffed it, took a sip, then another, and purred contentedly.

“A promise is a promise.”

He took out the Mouse’s tail and carefully put it back in place.

Click!

The tail clicked into place as though it had never come off.

The Mouse turned right, then left, checked her tail, and clapped her paws in delight.

“It’s back!”

“It’s back,” agreed the Cat.

“Then we can play again!”

The Cat narrowed his eyes.

“We can. But this time, no catching tails.”

“Agreed!”

And off they ran again among the sacks and baskets.

Only now the Cat chased the ball of yarn,

the Mouse chased patches of sunlight,

and her little tail followed happily behind her.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨