Country Mouse, Town Mouse.

Ngày:22/09/2016  

  There was once a little mouse who lived very happily in the country. He ate grains of wheat and grass seeds, nibbled turnips in the fields, and had a safe snug house in a hedgerow. On sunny days he would curl up on the bank near his nest and warm himself, and in the winter he would scamper in the fields with his friends.
  He was delighted when he heard his cousin from the town was coming to visit him, and fetched some of the best food from his store cupboard so he could share it with him. When his cousin arrived, he proudly offered him some fine grains of dried wheat and some particularly good nuts he had put away in the autumn.
  His cousin, the town mouse, however, was not impressed.
  "You call this good food?" he asked. "My dear fellow, you must come and stay with me in the city. I will then show you what fine living is all about. Come with me tomorrow, for not a day should be lost before you see the excellent hospitality I can offer".
  So the two mice travelled up to town. From his cousin's mousehole, the country mouse watched with wonder a grand dinner which the people who lived in the house were giving. He stared in amazement at the variety of cheese, the beautiful vegetables, the fresh white rolls, the fruit, and the wine served from glittering decanters.
  "Now's our chance", said the town mouse, as the dining-room emptied. The two mice came out of the hole, and scurried across the floor to where the crumbs lay scattered beneath the table. Never had the country mouse eaten such delicacies, or tasted such fine food. "My cousin was right", he thought as he nibbled at a fine juicy grape. "This is the good life!"
  All of a sudden a great fierce furry beast leapt into the room and pounced on the mice.
  "Run for it, little cousin!" shouted the town mouse, and together they reached the mousehole gasping for breath and shaking with fright. The cat settled down outside the hole, tail twitching, to wait for them.
  "Don't worry. He will get bored soon, and go and amuse himself elsewhere. We can then go and finish our feast", said the town mouse.
  "You can go out there again, if you like", said the country mouse. "I shall not. I am leaving tonight by the back door to return to my country home. I would rather gnaw a humble vegetable there than live here amidst these dangers".
  So the country mouse lived happily in the country, the town mouse in the town. Each was content with the way of life he was used to, and had no desire to change.