The country mouse and the city mouse

Knock-knock! The country mouse ran towards the door excitedly. He was expecting
his cousin from the city to come and visit.

“Hello, dear cousin,” he said, and gave his cousin a big hug and made him sit down
at the laid table. “I’m so glad to see you! Come on in, let’s have dinner and you will
tell me how life is treating you.”

“My dearest cousin, thank you for your warm welcome”, the city mouse said. He took
a quick look at the neatly set table, which had only a few dry berries and a dozen
walnuts on it. “Life seems to be treating me better than you. Come visit me and I will


show you such an abundant feast that you will never want to come back to the
country again.”

And so the next week the country mouse visited his cousin in the city. His cousin met
him by a huge store of food; including fresh grapes, granola, bagels, nuts… The
country mouse was astounded!

“Let’s have a real dinner now, dear cousin,” the city mouse said and was just about
to tuck in, when a cat attacked the dinner table.


The two mice had to wait for the cat to take what he wanted and leave, before they
could go back. “Phew! This was close! Things like this shouldn’t bother you too
much, it’s part of city life,” said the host apologetically.

They tried again. This time they couldn’t even touch their food, because a dog ran
towards them and the two cousins had to run for their lives again.

“Dear cousin, thank you for your hospitality! The table was indeed abundant, but we

can never sit and dine properly. I’d rather go back to the country, where I can enjoy
my dinner in peace.”