The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Once, a Town Mouse who lived in the refined quarters of a great city paid a visit to her cousin, the Country Mouse, who dwelt in a modest cottage in the countryside. The Country Mouse, happy to see her urban relative, served her simple fare—grain and herbs and vegetables from the garden—arranged as prettily as her humble means allowed. The Town Mouse, accustomed to the delicacies of the city, picked at the food with disdain. "How can you bear such meager provisions?" she asked. "Come with me to the city, and I shall show you a life of elegance and plenty beyond your imagination." The Country Mouse, curious about the great city she had heard of but never seen, agreed to accompany her cousin. Upon arriving at the grand house where the Town Mouse lived, she was astonished at the splendor—the fine furnishings, the carpets and tapestries, the rooms filled with such magnificence as she had never conceived. The Town Mouse led her to the dining hall, where the servants had left behind remains of a great feast: fine cheeses, pastries, meats, and wines. The two mice feasted luxuriously, and the Country Mouse marveled at such abundance. Yet as they ate, the great door of the dining hall was suddenly flung open, and the master of the house entered with his hunting hounds. The dogs, seeing the mice, began to bark with terrible fury, chasing the creatures through the halls. The mice fled in terror, scampering through the rooms and barely escaping with their lives. When at last they had found safety, the Country Mouse, though shaken, turned to her cousin with resolve. "I see now that despite the elegance and abundance of your life, it is accompanied by constant fear and danger. Your memory of safety and peace is forgotten in the pursuit of luxurious food. I shall return to my cottage, where my meals are simple but my life is serene." The Town Mouse, ashamed and humbled, admitted that her cousin spoke truth. The Country Mouse departed, and though she remembered the splendor she had witnessed, she was content with her choice to preserve her peace and security.