Belling the Cat
A council of mice comes up with a plan to outsmart the Cat, but volunteers are a bit thin on the ground.
A council of mice comes up with a plan to outsmart the Cat, but volunteers are a bit thin on the ground.
This tale dates back no earlier than the thirteenth century, though it takes the form of one of Aesop’s Fables from ancient Greece. The author was Odo, a clergyman from Cheriton in Kent, who spent several years on the Continent before coming home in 1233 and settling down to his family estates. His fable reflects, he tells us, his experience of monks chafing under corrupt abbots.
LONG ago, the Mice gathered in anxious council to debate how they could best defend themselves against their great enemy, the Cat.
After a great deal of excited squeaking, one Mouse addressed the assembly with statesmanlike gravity.
“My fellow Mice” said he, “the solution must be this. Let a bell be fastened around the cat’s neck. Then we shall be able to hear him on the prowl, and take evasive action against his assaults.”
This ingenious plan pleased the council very much.
However, amid all the back-slapping and hubbub of congratulation a voice rose to ask, “Who will fasten the bell on the cat’s neck?”, and a rather awkward silence followed.
“Not me, that’s for sure” said someone. “Nor me” piped another, “I wouldn’t so much as go near him, not for all the tea in China.”
And that is why we let the rich and powerful go on lording it over us.*
Odo tells his tale to illustrate the dilemma facing monks living under the rule of a wicked abbot or bishop, and this is the moral he draws.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Why did the mice call a council?
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Some mice were anxious about a cat. They held a meeting. They discussed what they should do.