But the grandfather declared that just because he knew the Cat very well he would take good care not to attempt such a task.
And the long and the short of it was that no other mouse would undertake the duty; and so this clever proposal was never carried out, and the Cat remained mistress of the situation.
The Magpie and her Children
Said a Magpie to her children: “It’s high time you learned to look for your own food; it is indeed.”
And with that she turned the whole lot of them out of their nest and took them into the fields.
But the Magpie’s children didn’t care about that.
“We’d rather go back to our nest!” they cried. “It’s so comfortable to have you bringing our food to us in your beak!”
“I dare say!” said their mother. “But you’re big enough to feed yourselves. I was turned out of the nest when I was much younger, I can tell you that!”
“But people will kill us with their bows and arrows,” said the young magpies.
“No fear of that!” replied their mother. “People can’t shoot without taking aim, and that takes time. When you see them raising their bows to their faces, ready to draw, you must just fly away!”