54 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
54 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE TOWN MOUSE
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Once upon a time . . . a town mouse, on a trip to the country, met a
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country mouse. They spent the day together and became friends. The country
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mouse took his new friend into the meadows and vegetable gardens, making him
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sample all the good things of the land. Never having seen the beauties of the
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countryside, the town mouse was thrilled, though the country mouse's plain
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food wasn't nearly as fine as his own usual meals. To thank his friend for the
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lovely outing, he invited the country mouse to visit him in the town. And when
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the country mouse saw the pantry at his friend's house, full of hams, cheese,
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oil, flour, honey, jam and stacks of other goodies, he stood speechless with
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surprise.
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"I've never seen anything like it! Are all those wonderful things for
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eating?"
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"Of course!" came the re-ply. "You're my guest, so tuck in!" They began to
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feast, while the country mouse tried not to stuff himself. He wanted to taste
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everything before finding his tummy full.
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"You're the luckiest mouse I've ever met!" said the country mouse to his
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town brother. The town mouse was listening with delight to his friend's
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praise, when suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps interrupted their feast.
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"Run for it!" whispered the town mouse to his friend. They were just in
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time: for within an inch of them stood the lady of the house's large foot.
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Luckily, the lady went away and the two mice returned to enjoy their meal, so
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rudely interrupted.
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"It's all right! Come on!" said the town mouse."Don't worry. She's gone.
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Now for the honey! It's delicious! Have you ever tasted it?"
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"Yes, once, a long time ago,"the country mouse lied, trying to sound
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casual. But when he tasted it, he exclaimed: "Scrumptious! By the King of
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Mice! I ve never eaten anything so lovely in all my life!"
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Suddenly there came the sound of footsteps, this time thumping heavily. The
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two mice fled. The man of the house had come to fetch some bottles, and when he
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saw the spilt honey, he groaned: "Those ghastly mice again! I thought I've got
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rid of them. I'll send the cat!" And trembling with terror, the mice hid away.
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This time it was not only the sudden visit that had given them a fright, it
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was the man's awful words. The mice were so scared, they held their breath,
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making no sound. Then, since all remained quiet, they began to feel braver,
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and picked up enough courage to leave their hidey-hole.
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"We can come out now! There's nobody here!" the town mouse whispered.
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Suddenly, the pantry door creaked, and the two luckless mice froze in fear.
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Out of the dim light glowed a pair of horrid yellow eyes. A large cat was
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staring round the room in search of its prey. The country mouse and the town
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mouse tiptoed silently back to their hidey-hole. They wished their pounding
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hearts would stop beating, for fear of the cat hearing the noise they made.
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But, as luck would have it, the cat discovered a juicy sausage. Forgetting why
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his master had sent him into the pantry, he stopped to eat it. No longer
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hungry, after that, the cat decided that he might as well leave mouse-hunting
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for another day. Off he padded, to have forty winks elsewhere. Now, as soon as
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the country mouse realized that all danger was past, he did not lose a second.
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He hastily shook hands with his friend, saying: "Thanks so much for everything!
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But I must rush off now! I can't stand all these shocks! I's far rather sit
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down to a meal of a few acorns in peace, in the country, than face a great
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spread of delicious food, surrounded by dangers on all sides and with my heart
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in my mouth!"
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