Long ago, the
mice had 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."
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