|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Once upon a time, in a little village full of flowers and tall trees, lived a friendly little mouse. Her house had a pretty flight of steps. She was hardworking and swept them every day because she liked to keep them clean and tidy.
One morning, while sweeping, she found a golden coin shining in the sunlight.
“Oh, how lucky I am!” she cried happily.
She thought and thought about what to do with it. After a while, she decided to go to the village market and buy a beautiful ribbon for her tail.
At the market, she saw ribbons in many colours: red, blue, yellow and green. Her favourite was pink with tiny white spots.
“This ribbon is perfect!” she said excitedly.
She bought it and proudly tied it around her tail. She felt like the prettiest little mouse in the world! When she returned home, all the village animals admired her new bow.
Mr Rooster said in his loud voice:
“Little mouse, little mouse, how lovely you look! Will you marry me?”
The little mouse asked:
“What will you do at night?”
The rooster replied:
“I’ll sing: ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo!’”
“Oh, no!” said the mouse. “That would wake me up!”
She went on her way. Next came Mr Dog, who said in his deep voice:
“Little mouse, little mouse, how pretty you look! Will you marry me?”
The little mouse asked:
“What will you do at night?”
The dog replied:
“I’ll bark: ‘Woof, woof, woof!’”
“Oh, no!” said the mouse. “That would frighten me!”
She kept walking. Later, Mr Cat came over with a sly smile.
“Little mouse, little mouse, how pretty you look! Will you marry me?”
The little mouse asked:
“What will you do at night?”
The cat answered softly:
“I’ll purr sweetly: ‘Meow, meow.’”
The little mouse thought he would make a good companion and agreed to marry him. They prepared a big village party to celebrate.
But that night, while the mouse was preparing a lovely supper in the kitchen, the cat began thinking of a way to get all the food for himself.
He tried to catch the little mouse, but she was clever and ran away. She rushed out of the house and called her friends for help.
The dog, the rooster and all the other animals hurried over and managed to chase the deceitful cat away.
The little mouse learned to be careful of flattering words and to trust her true friends.
From then on, she lived happily in her village, surrounded by friends and caring for her doorstep, which shone as brightly as her kind heart.
