Aesop's Fables: The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
A City Mouse once upon a time went on a visit to his cousin in the
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. He was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him feel welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to
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, but he offered them freely.
The City Mouse instead turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: "I cannot understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor
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as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the country; come you
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me and I will show you how to live. When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever have stood a country
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."
No sooner said than done: the
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mice set off for the town and arrived at the City Mouse's residence late at
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. "You will want some refreshment after our long
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," said the polite City Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the
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of a fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and
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and all that was nice.
Suddenly they heard growling and
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. "What is that?" said the Country Mouse. "It is only the
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of the house," answered the other. "Only!" said the Country Mouse. "I do not like that music at my
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." Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off. "
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, Cousin," said the Country Mouse, "What! going so soon?" said the other. "Yes," he
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;
"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and beer in fear."