Belling the Cat

LONG ago, the mice held a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case. "You will all agree," said he, "that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood."

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: "That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?" The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:

"It is easy to propose impossible remedies."

From Belling the Cat by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1894). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. What does the word "procured" mean as it is used in the young mouse's proposal?

DestroyedObtainedHiddenPainted

2. Why does the young mouse believe the bell will solve their problem with the Cat?

It will scare the Cat away from the neighborhood forever.It will make the Cat friendly and stop her from hunting.It will provide a warning signal when the Cat is approaching.It will trap the Cat so she cannot move around anymore.

3. How does the reaction of the mice change from right after the young mouse finishes speaking to after the old mouse asks his question? Use evidence from the text.

4. The young mouse describes the Cat's approach as "sly and treacherous." How do these specific words help explain the main danger the mice face?

5. What does the old mouse mean when he says, "It is easy to propose impossible remedies"? How does the council meeting prove his point?