A
large number of mice lived in a farm. They had been having a good time at the
house. Being annoyed the owner of the house brought a cat to kill them. The cat
spread terror among the mice. None dared come outside in fear of being killed
by the cat. All the mice of the mouse colony decided to hold a conference to
seek a solution.
Taking
advantage of the cat’s absence, one day the mice of all ages got together in
the conference. Each one put forward a suggestion, but none of the ideas was
really practical.
“Let’s
make a big trap,” one mouse suggested. This idea was turned down and, another
said, “What about poisoning her?” But nobody knew which poison could kill cats.
One young widow, whose husband has fallen a prey to the ferocious cat, angrily
proposed, “Let’s cut her claws and teeth so that she can do no more harm.” But
the conference did not approve of the widow’s idea. At last, a mouse, wiser
than others, waving a bell, called for silence. “We’ll tie this bell to the
cat’s neck, so we’ll always know where she is! We’ll have time to escape.”
All
of the mice clapped at the wise mouse’s words and everyone congratulated him on
his good idea. However, the wise mouse rang the bell again for silence. “We
must decide who’s going to bell the cat,” he said. There was no sound except a
faint murmur: “I can’t because……..”
Nobody
was brave enough to come forward to materialise the idea and the conference
ended in smoke. All the mice eventually moved to different places.