Cat and Mouse in Partnership

A cat had become friends with a mouse, and she talked so much about how much she loved her and how great their friendship was, that at last the mouse agreed that they should live together and share a home.

"But we must store up food for the winter, otherwise we will starve," said the cat, "and you, little mouse, cannot go everywhere, or you might get caught in a trap someday." The mouse followed the cat's good advice, and they bought a pot of fat.

But they didn't know where to put it. After thinking for a long time, the cat said, "I know no better place than the church, because nobody dares to take anything from there. We will put it under the altar, and we won't touch it until we really need it." So they put the pot safely away.

But it wasn't long before the cat had a big craving for the fat. She said to the mouse, "I want to tell you something, little mouse: my cousin has had a little son, and she has asked me to be the godmother.

The baby is white with brown spots, and I am to hold him at the christening. Please let me go out today, and you take care of the house alone." "Yes, yes," answered the mouse, "go ahead, and if you get anything delicious, think of me.

I would like a drop of sweet red christening wine too." But all this was a lie: the cat had no cousin and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight to the church, crept up to the pot of fat, began to lick it, and licked off the top layer of fat.

Then she took a walk on the rooftops of the town, looked around for something to do, and then stretched out in the sun, licking her lips whenever she thought of the pot of fat. She didn't come home until evening. "Well, here you are again," said the mouse.

"You must have had a fun day." "Everything went well," answered the cat. "What name did they give the child?" "Top-off!" said the cat very coolly. "Top-off!" cried the mouse. "That is a very strange and unusual name! Is it common in your family?" "What does it matter?" said the cat.

"It's no worse than Crumb-stealer, like your godchildren are called."

Before long, the cat had another craving. She said to the mouse, "You must do me a favor and manage the house alone for another day. I've been asked to be godmother again, and since the child has a white ring around its neck, I can't say no." The good mouse agreed.

But the cat sneaked behind the town walls to the church and ate half of the pot of fat. "Nothing tastes as good as what you keep for yourself," she said, and she was very pleased with her day's work.

When she came home, the mouse asked, "And what was this child christened?" "Half-done," answered the cat. "Half-done! What are you saying? I have never heard that name in my life! I bet it's not even in the calendar!"

Soon the cat's mouth started watering for more licking. "All good things come in threes," she said. "I've been asked to be godmother again. The child is completely black except for white paws, and it doesn't have a single white hair anywhere else. This only happens once every few years.

You will let me go, won't you?" "Top-off! Half-done!" answered the mouse. "Those are such odd names, they make me worried." "You stay at home," said the cat, "in your dark-gray fur coat and long tail, and you get all kinds of silly ideas because you never go out in the daytime." While the cat was gone, the mouse cleaned the house and put everything in order.

But the greedy cat completely emptied the pot of fat. "When everything is eaten, you have peace," she said to herself. She stayed out until night, full and fat. The mouse immediately asked what name the third child had been given.

"It won't please you any 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?" She shook her head, curled up, and went to sleep.

After that, nobody asked the cat to be godmother. But when winter came and there was nothing left to find outside, the mouse thought of their food supply and said, "Come, cat, let's go get our pot of fat that we stored for ourselves.

We'll enjoy it." "Yes," answered the cat, "you will enjoy it as much as you would enjoy sticking that dainty tongue of yours out the window." They set off. But when they arrived, the pot was still in its place, but it was empty. "Oh no!" said the mouse.

"Now I see what happened! Now it all makes sense! You are a true friend! You ate everything when you were pretending to be godmother! First top off, then half done, then—" "Be quiet!" yelled the cat.

"One more word and I'll eat you too!" "All gone" was already on the poor mouse's lips. As soon as she said it, the cat jumped on her, grabbed her, and swallowed her down. And that, truly, is the way of the world.