They say that in ancient times, a cat and a mouse were bosom friends. They lived carefree on one of the islands. There were many birds, which the cat ate, and the mouse fed on nuts and chestnut fruits. One day the mouse said to the cat:
“I’m tired of being stuck on this island.” What do you think, should we move to the shore? - How will we cross the sea? - asked the cat. “It’s not difficult,” answered the mouse. “Let’s make a boat out of wood.”
She brought in a large piece of wood, used her teeth and chewed out a hole in which she and the cat could fit. Then the friends got into this small boat and set sail. On the way, they suddenly felt hungry. But they had no food. Each sat huddled in a ball in their own corner and tried to sleep. Finally the cat dozed off. And the mouse continued to stay awake. To satisfy her hunger, she began to gnaw the bottom of the boat. Every time the cat opened its eyes, the mouse pretended to be asleep. So she gnawed at the bottom until she made a hole in it. Water began to seep in and the boat slowly began to sink.
Soon the friends were in the water. And since the cat really didn’t like water, she became angry with her friend and shouted:
- I'll eat you! - Be patient until you get out of the water, otherwise it will drag you into its abyss. “You still have time to eat me,” answered the mouse.
When they got to the shore, the cat said: “Now I’ll eat you.” “Wait, I’ll dry off: you won’t be able to digest my meat while I’m so wet.”
Then the mouse took advantage of the cat’s mistake and disappeared into a small hole. The cat tried in vain to crawl after it. “I’ll wait until you come out, you liar!” - she shouted to the mouse. “You’ll have to wait a long time,” she answered. “I’ll never leave here.”
The cat sat down at the entrance to the hole, waiting for the mouse to appear from there, and at that time the mouse began to dig the ground. She made a long passage underground, came out from the other end and was gone. Since then, the cat has forgotten how to sleep deeply. At night she listens to the mouse scratching and watches it at the entrance for hours. And the mouse never crawls out of the hole if it notices a cat sitting in ambush.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru