A Collection of Stories

How the Mouse became so small

Another fable. I don't like this one as much as the other.

When the land was still green, the stench of mankind was free from the air, and animals all lived in peace and prosperity, there lived a mouse. He was the first mouse in history, and was ginormous, the size and weight of several elephants. Because of his mammoth size, the mouse ruled the land, teasing the other animals because of their seemingly miniscule size.

As a result of the mouse's merciless teasing and dictatorship rule, all the animals hated him and strongly wished for a new leader, but could do nothing to stop it, due to mouse's humongous size. 

 "What shall we do?" Eagle exclaimed, looking around carefully to make sure no unwanted ears were listening. 

 "We can't just sit here," Monkey said, gravely.

 As the animals discussed the future of the land, one sly beast hatched a plan. Cat was one of the smallest animals, and often the subject of mouse's wrath, but was also one of the cleverest, smartest, and the most agile. Quietly, cat slunk off, in search of mouse, ready to defeat him, once and for all.

Cat found mouse in a large cave, gorging himself on the finest of foods. Slowly, cat approached, careful not to make too much noise. He cleared his throat, and mouse looked up.

 "What a lovely treasure collection you have," cat said, examining the heaped piles of gold and jewels lining the edges of the cave.

 Mouse smirked. "All mine," he said, gleefully.

 Cat sighed. "Pity, pity." Mouse narrowed his eyes. "Pity...?" Cat sighed again. "I've heard of an enormous collection of treasure near here," he said. "A treasure like that could fund the entire world." 

 "Show me this treasure," mouse said, his voice raised with excitement.

 "The only problem is, the only entrance to the cave is a tiny hole. Even I couldn't fit through it," cat said. 

 Mouse snorted. "I'll just get one of my other subjects to get it for me."

 "Would you really trust one of the other animals to collect it? Only you can get it."

 Mouse considered this. "Take me to the treasure," mouse said, excitedly.

Cat smiled. "as you wish."

Cat and mouse walked, until they reached a towering mountain, a tiny hole resting at the foot of it. 

 "Here it is," cat said, gesturing to the hole. 

 "Baboon!" mouse called. "Baboon!"

 Out of the forest, a wizened, old, baboon hobbled out, clutching a handful of leaves. Silently, the baboon handed them to mouse, who stuffed them in his mouth. Baboon gave cat a knowing look and wandered off. Cat watched in wonder as mouse began to shrink, until he was barely the size of cat's paw. Shrieking, he ran into the hole, to find it empty, save for a moldy piece of cheese. Mouse squealed, and ran off, furious that he had been tricked. When the other animals saw him, in his pitiful size, they roared with laughter. Ashamed, mouse ran off into the forest, never to insult again.

Cat was welcomed back to the animal community, a hero to all. He crowned his cousin, the lion, the king of the jungle. Ever since then, cat and mouse have been great enemies, never to forget what each other had done.

A/N: Hey people! Hope you're having a nice day!

-Olive out