Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Mouse and the Rat

Here is the very first fable I ever wrote. I threw it together in 2011 shortly after I finished reading my "Aesop's Fables" book. I present for your enjoyment, "The Mouse and the Rat."

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While gnawing on a delicious seed, a mouse noticed a rat scurrying around nearby. Wanting to give him a piece of his mind, he approached the rat and said, “You rats are disgusting. You should be more civil like us mice.” The rat smiled and thanked the mouse for his advice before promptly devouring him.

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Mice and rats are two of my most favorite animals. I am pretty sure this fable was destined to happen. I simply threw the two animals together and watched what happened. What happened was actually pretty tragic. Of course, the mouse did probably have it coming. Still sad though.

In many ways, this story was re-written later on in the form of "The Coyote and his Meal" which was about a man claiming that he shouldn't be eaten by a coyote because he possessed a name. The mouse was claiming to be civil in the present story. The rat didn't really care.

The question that I am always left with when I read this story is, "Are mice really all that civil?" No, not really. Mice are about as primitive as rats are. One is just bigger and meaner than the other. The reason I probably cast the mouse as civil was because we usually associate mice with more gentleness and cuteness than we do with rats. We see rats as nasty pests.

The story also depicts the mouse as being an herbivore which is largely true. There may be some exceptions, but the majority generally rules when it comes to how animals are portrayed. Rats will eat anything. They absolutely do not care what they eat. In fact, I don't think they care about much at all. When the mouse attempted to make his place in the universe known, the rat took the opportunity to correct him. And yes, he was pleased that the mouse had given him the advice. Free food!

Not a bad start for me, in my own personal self-assessment. I did not include a moral. If you have a moral you think is appropriate to this one, let me know what it is. I love hearing the ideas of others.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? If so, you can comment below or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Squeak!