The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

The city mouse and the country mouse

A version of the tale by TheFableCottage.com

This is a city mouse. He lives in a big city with tall buildings
and lots of shops and restaurants. But today he is visiting his friend,
a country mouse. The country mouse lives in a cozy nest
at the bottom of a tree. Her home is small, but it is warm
and comfortable.

The country mouse cooks a dinner
of food from her garden: corn, carrots, acorns and a cold glass of water from the stream.
Meanwhile, the city mouse talks and talks: The city is amazing!
I go to the theater and the museum... My house has TWENTY rooms.
You absolutely MUST visit! Have you ever tried Chinese food?

That night, the country mouse dreams that she lives in the city.
She dreams that she eats at fancy restaurants, says fancy things,
and buys fancy hats from fancy stores. She dreams about eating Chinese food.
"How wonderful!" she thinks. "I want to live in the city too!"

The next morning the country mouse agrees to visit the city mouse.
She packs her bag and follows the city mouse back to his big house in the city.
The house is enormous! There are TWENTY rooms full of beautiful furniture.
The country mouse is amazed. "Which room is mine?" she asks.
"Um... we actually live down here…" says the city mouse.
He leads her down some stairs to the basement.

In the darkness, the country mouse sees many families of mice.
"These are my housemates…" explains the city mouse.
The city mouse leads the country mouse back upstairs for dinner.
In the dining room there is a feast of delicious foods on the table:
cheese, bread, cookies, cakes, and lemonade. There is also… Chinese food!
But just as they start to eat... CRASH! A cat with sharp teeth and sharp claws
jumps up on the table. REEEEEOWWWW! The city cat chases the two mice
off the table and across the floor. The mice hide in a hole in the wall.
They are trapped! They wait silently until the cat leaves.
Then, they quietly creep back to the dining room … but all the food is gone!
The city humans ate everything!

The country mouse hurries back to the basement and packs her bag.
"Where are you going?" asks the city mouse.
"Home.” she says. I want to go back to the country.
Your city life isn't so wonderful after all.
Now, please, help me call a taxi.

Moral: Sometimes other people’s lives are not as great as they make you believe.