The Conference of The Mice #ChildrenStoryBook

The Conference of The Mice

Once upon a time…there was a large tabby cat which, from the minute she arrived at the farm, spread terror among the mice that lived in the cellar. Nobody dared to go outside for fear of falling into the clutches of the awful cat.

The fast-shrinking mouse colony decided to hold a conference to seek a way of stopping themselves from becoming extinct. Taking advantage of the cat’s absence one day, mice of all ages streamed into the conference room. And certain that they could solve the matter, each one put forward a suggestion, but none of the ideas were really practical.

“Let’s build an outsize trap,” one mouse suggested. When this idea was turned down, another said: “What about poisoning her?” But nobody knew of a poison that would kill cats. One young widow, whose husband had fallen prey to the ferocious cat, angrily proposed: “Let’s cut her claws and teeth, so she can do no more harm.” But the conference did not approve of the widow’s idea.
At last, one of the mice, wiser than the rest, scrambled to the top of the lantern that shone over the meeting. Waving a bell, he called for silence: “We’ll tie this bell to the cat’s tail, so we’ll always know where she is! We’ll have time to escape, and the slow and weaker mice will hear her coming and be able to hide!”

A round of hearty applause met the wise mouse’s words, and everyone congratulated him on his original idea.
“…We’ll tie it so tightly that it will never come off!”

“… She’ll never be able to sneak quietly up on us again! Why, the other day, she suddenly loomed up right in front of me! Just imagine….”

However, the wise mouse rang the bell again for silence. “We must decide who is going to tie the bell on the cat’s tail,” he said. There was not a sound in the room except for a faint murmur: “I can’t, because…”

“Not me!” “I’d do it willingly, but…” “Neither can I….” “Not me!” “Not me!”

Nobody was brave enough to come forward to put the plan into action, and the conference of the mice ended without any decision being made.

Lesson: It’s often very easy to have bright ideas, but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter…

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The Animals and the Plague #ChildreStoryBook

The Animals and the Plague

Once upon a time…a terrible scourge swept through a huge forest, full of animals. It was the plague. One after the other, all the animals, big and small, strong and weak, died of the dreadful disease. None could hope to escape such a horrible fate, not even the lion himself, king of the forest. Indeed, it was the lion that gathered together the survivors, and said in a trembling voice: “This disaster is a punishment for our wicked ways. And I for one will admit I’ve been wicked. If you find me guilty, I’ll gladly give up my life if you think that would help you I in making amends for your own sins. So I confess that, during my lifetime, I’ve eaten many an innocent sheep.”

“But, Sire,” broke in one of the animals, “sure you don’t think that eating sheep is a serious sin. We too…we too…” And they all began to tell their own stories.

One by one, the animals told of their crimes against their neighbors. The leopard had killed on more than one occasion, the eagle had snatched rabbits and lambs, the fox and the wolf had stolen and murdered. Even the placid-looking owl had little birds and mice on his conscience. Everyone had some wicked-deed, serious, or otherwise, to confess. But each animal, after his confession, was forgiven by the others, all just as guilty, of course. Last came the donkey, who said with a mortified air: “I did a very wicked thing too. One day, instead of just grazing here and there, I ate two clumps of grass in a clover meadow, without permission. I was sorry afterwards, and I’ve had a guilty conscience about it ever since!”

All the animals glared at the donkey and, shouting and calling insults, they chorused: “So that’s who brought the plague on us! Stealing grass from a poor peasant! Shame on you!” And the fate of the donkey was decided unanimously.

Lesson: How often are innocent folk made to pay for the wicked deeds of guilty?

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