Version 1 —
Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case. “You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighborhood.”
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:
“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”
Version 2 —
There lived some mice in a certain house. There was no cat in the house. So the mice moved about quite freely and ate whatever they got in the kitchen. The master of the house felt very much disturbed. So one day he brought a cat to kill them.
The cat was a good hunter. So the mice were now in great fear. They could not come out of their holes.
At last they held a meeting to decide how they might get rid of the cat. But none could suggest a suitable plan. At last a young mouse said, “Friends, let us tie a bell to the neck of the cat. When the cat moves, the bell will ring. Then we shall run away."
“It is really a very good plan,” said all the mice in great joy.
But there was an old mouse. He was all along silent. Now he said, “It is no doubt a good plan. But who will bell the cat?"
There was no reply. The joy of the mice disappeared in a moment. They left the place.
Moral: Easier said than done.
Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case. “You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighborhood.”
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:
“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”
Version 2 —
There lived some mice in a certain house. There was no cat in the house. So the mice moved about quite freely and ate whatever they got in the kitchen. The master of the house felt very much disturbed. So one day he brought a cat to kill them.
The cat was a good hunter. So the mice were now in great fear. They could not come out of their holes.
At last they held a meeting to decide how they might get rid of the cat. But none could suggest a suitable plan. At last a young mouse said, “Friends, let us tie a bell to the neck of the cat. When the cat moves, the bell will ring. Then we shall run away."
“It is really a very good plan,” said all the mice in great joy.
But there was an old mouse. He was all along silent. Now he said, “It is no doubt a good plan. But who will bell the cat?"
There was no reply. The joy of the mice disappeared in a moment. They left the place.
Moral: Easier said than done.
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