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Grimms' Fairy Tales
Cat
and Mouse in Partnership
A certain cat had made the acquaintance of
a mouse, and had said so much to her about the great love
and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse
agreed that they should live and keep house together. "But
we must make a provision for winter, or else we shall suffer
from hunger," said the cat, "and you, little mouse,
cannot venture everywhere, or you will be caught in a trap
some day." The good advice was followed, and a pot
of fat was bought, but they did not know where to put it.
At length, after much consideration, the cat said, "I
know no place where it will be better stored up than in
the church, for no one dares take anything away from there.
We will set it beneath the altar, and not touch it until
we are really in need of it." So the pot was placed
in safety, but it was not long before the cat had a great
yearning for it, and said to the mouse, "I want to
tell you something, little mouse; my cousin has brought
a little son into the world, and has asked me to be godmother;
he is white with brown spots, and I am to hold him over
the font at the christening. Let me go out to-day, and you
look after the house by yourself." "Yes, yes,"
answered the mouse, "by all means go, and if you get
anything very good, think of me, I should like a drop of
sweet red christening wine too." All this, however,
was untrue; the cat had no cousin, and had not been asked
to be godmother. She went straight to the church, stole
to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and licked the top
of the fat off. Then she took a walk upon the roofs of the
town, looked out for opportunities, and then stretched herself
in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of
the pot of fat, and not until it was evening did she return
home. "Well, here you are again," said the mouse,
"no doubt you have had a merry day." "All
went off well," answered the cat. "What name did
they give the child?" "Top off!" said the
cat quite coolly. "Top off!" cried the mouse,
"that is a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual
one in your family?" "What does it signify,"
said the cat, "it is no worse than Crumb-stealer, as
your god-children are called."
Before long the cat was seized by another fit of longing.
She said to the mouse, "You must do me a favour, and
once more manage the house for a day alone. I am again asked
to be godmother, and, as the child has a white ring round
its neck, I cannot refuse." The good mouse consented,
but the cat crept behind the town walls to the church, and
devoured half the pot of fat. "Nothing ever seems so
good as what one keeps to oneself," said she, and was
quite satisfied with her day's work. When she went home
the mouse inquired, "And what was this child christened?"
"Half-done," answered the cat. "Half-done!
What are you saying? I never heard the name in my life,
I'll wager anything it is not in the calendar!"
The cat's mouth soon began to water for some more licking.
"All good things go in threes," said she, "I
am asked to stand godmother again. The child is quite black,
only it has white paws, but with that exception, it has
not a single white hair on its whole body; this only happens
once every few years, you will let me go, won't you?"
"Top-off! Half-done!" answered the mouse, "they
are such odd names, they make me very thoughtful."
"You sit at home," said the cat, "in your
dark-grey fur coat and long tail, and are filled with fancies,
that's because you do not go out in the daytime." During
the cat's absence the mouse cleaned the house, and put it
in order but the greedy cat entirely emptied the pot of
fat. "When everything is eaten up one has some peace,"
said she to herself, and well filled and fat she did not
return home till night. The mouse at once asked what name
had been given to the third child. "It will not please
you more than the others," said the cat. "He is
called All-gone." "All-gone," cried the mouse,
"that is the most suspicious name of all! I have never
seen it in print. All-gone; what can that mean?" and
she shook her head, curled herself up, and lay down to sleep.
From this time forth no one invited the cat to be god-mother,
but when the winter had come and there was no longer anything
to be found outside, the mouse thought of their provision,
and said, "Come cat, we will go to our pot of fat which
we have stored up for ourselves -- we shall enjoy that."
"Yes," answered the cat, "you will enjoy
it as much as you would enjoy sticking that dainty tongue
of yours out of the window." They set out on their
way, but when they arrived, the pot of fat certainly was
still in its place, but it was empty. "Alas!"
said the mouse, "now I see what has happened, now it
comes to light! You are a true friend! You have devoured
all when you were standing godmother. First top off, then
half done, then --." "Will you hold your tongue,"
cried the cat, "one word more and I will eat you too."
"All gone" was already on the poor mouse's lips;
scarcely had she spoken it before the cat sprang on her,
seized her, and swallowed her down. Verily, that is the
way of the world.
Source: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans.
Margaret Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:4-7. |
