Kid’s Stories, Jataka Tales – Village rat and city rat.

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a mouse. Out in the green fields, he has made his cozy hut. The whole day he would enjoy munching on wheat and corn. Miles away in the city lived his cousin in a small hole in a posh house. One day the country mouse was very excited, his cousin was coming from the city to meet him. The city mouse arrived at the village.

City Mouse: Hi there brother, seeing you after a very long time.

Country mouse: Welcome dear. Nice to see you.

Narration:

They hugged each other. Then the country mouse led his cousin inside the house. When the city mouse sat down to dinner he was surprised to find that the country mouse had nothing to eat except barley and grain.

City mouse: Really you do not live well at all. You should see how I live! I have all sorts of fine things to eat every day. You must come to visit me and see how nice it is to live in the city.

Narration:

The country mouse was glad to do this, and after a while, he went to the city to visit his cousin. The very first place that the city mouse took the country mouse to see was the kitchen cupboard of the house where he lived. There stood a big paper bag of sugar. The little city mouse gnawed a hole in the bag and invited his friend to nibble for himself. The two little mice nibbled and nibbled and the country mouse thought he had never tasted anything so delicious in his life. He was just thinking how lucky the city mouse was.

“Run”, whispered the city mouse. And they ran as fast as they could to the little hole where they had come in. The little country mouse was shaking all over when they got safely away.

Country mouse: This is very terrible, let us not go back to the cupboard again.

City Mouse: No, I will take you to the cellar, there is something special there.

Narration:

So the city mouse took his friend down the cellar stairs and into a big cupboard where there were many shelves. On the shelves were jars of butter and cheeses in bags and out of bags. Overhead hung bunches of sausages, and there were spicy apples in barrels standing about. It smelled so good that it went to the little country mouse’s head until he saw an especially rich, very delicious-smelling piece of cheese on a queer little stand in a corner. He was just on the point of putting his teeth into the cheese when the city mouse saw him.

Stop, stop, that is a trap.

Narration:

So the little country mouse stopped and said

Country mouse: What is a trap?

City mouse: That thing is a trap. The minute you touch the cheese with your teeth something comes down on your head hard, and you are dead.

Narration:

The little country mouse looked at the trap, and he looked at the cheese and he looked at the little city mouse.

Country mouse: If you will excuse me, I think I will go home. I had rather have barley and grain to eat and eat it in peace and comfort than have sugar and dried prunes and cheese, and be frightened to death all the time!

Narration:

So the little country mouse went back to his home and there he stayed all the rest of his life.

Moral:

Be happy with what you have.