In a grocer’s shop there lived many mice. There was plenty of food for them in the shop. They ate grains and dry fruits, bread and biscuits, jam and cheese.
The grocer became restless because of the mice. Thus the goods of the shop were wasted day by day and it caused a heavy loss in his business. He said to himself, "I must do something to get rid of the mice or someday they will be the end of me."
One day the grocer brought a big, fat cat to the shop and tamed it. So the mice's domination began to lessen. Now the mice could not move about freely. Every day the cat would catch and kill some of them.
The mice were worried. They held a meeting. All of them said, "We must get rid of the cat somehow." But what could they do? They had no answer.
Then a smart mouse stood up and said, "The cat moves very softly and swiftly. She attacks us before we realize anything. So I think we must tie a bell round her neck."
Another mouse said, "You are right. The bell will ring, when the cat moves. So it will be possible for us to keep ourselves at a safe distance from her."
All the mice welcomed the suggestion with a loud cry of ‘Hurrah!"
Then an old mouse stood up and said, "Stop this rejoicing. Can you tell me who will bell the cat?
All of them were quiet in a moment. They had no answer. Nobody could say boldly, "I will go to bell the cat."
