The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
A City Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the countryside. For lunch, the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a splash of cold water for drink. The City Mouse ate very little, nibbling a bit of this and a bit of that, and by her manner making it clear that she ate the simple food only to be polite.
After the meal, the friends had a long talk, or rather the City Mouse talked about her life in the city while the Country Mouse listened.
They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the hedgerow and slept in quiet and comfort until morning.
In her sleep, the Country Mouse dreamed she was a City Mouse with all the comforts and pleasures of city life that her friend had described.
So the next day when the City Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, she gladly said yes.
When they reached the big house in which the City Mouse lived, they found the leftovers of a wonderful feast on the table in the dining room.
There were sweets and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses, indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. But just as the Country Mouse was about to nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat meow loudly and scratch at the door.
In great fear, the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly, and in came the servants to clear the table, followed by the House Dog
The Country Mouse stopped in the City Mouse’s den only long enough to pick up her carpet bag and umbrella.
“You may have comforts and treats that I have not,” she said as she hurried away, “but I prefer my simple food and plain life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.
Moral of the story
Be content with what you have: Sometimes, what seems simple can be more valuable than fancy things.
Safety and peace are important: It’s better to have a peaceful and secure life, even if it means having fewer luxuries.
Questions for the children
- Why do you think the Country Mouse preferred her simple life in the countryside?
- Can you think of a time when you were happy with something simple instead of something fancy?
Post Note: This story is based on Aesop’s fable, written around 600 BC. In this retelling, we’ve used simpler words to make the story easier for young readers to understand.
