| Once there were a lot of mice in an old
house. They ate up a lot of food. So the owner of the house got a cat. The cat
killed many of the mice. One day the oldest mouse said, "All the mice must come to my hole tonight, and we will decide what we can do about the cat." All the mice came. They thought hard and tried to find a way to save their lives. Many of them spoke, but no one knew what to do. At last a young mouse stood up and said, "Why not tie (系) a bell around the cat's neck? Then when the cat comes near, we'll hear the bell and run away and hide. Then the cat won't catch any more of us." The oldest mouse said: "That's a good idea. If we can tie a bell around the cat, it will save many of our lives." After a moment he asked, "But who's going to do it?" None of the mice answered. He waited but still no one said anything. At last he said, "It's easy to say things, but not so easy to do them." |