The Town Mouse And The Country Mouse

A country mouse lived a field of barley. He made a nest and hung it upon two stalk of barley. The nest was very small a very light. It was made of grass.
The country mouse ate barley and the roots of other plants.
A mouse from town came to see the country mouse. The town mouse was very quick and clever. His coat was smooth and shining. His home was in a big house in the town.
The country mouse gave the town mouse dinner in the barley field. He thought out the very best barley and roots for the meal. But the town mouse did not enjoy his dinner.
‘My poor friend’, he said, ‘in town we have much nicer food than this. You must come to see where I lived. I shall give you all sorts of good things to eat.’
The town mouse returned to his home. The country mouse went with him. They went to a big house.
‘I lived here,’ said the town mouse. He pointed to a small hole in the wall. ‘That is my front door. Come and see my house.’
The town mouse scampered through the hole in the wall. The country mouse followed. They went into the big room. A thick carpet was on the floor. There were beautiful chairs and small tables.
‘This is the drawing room,’ said the town mouse. ‘Sometimes I sleep in the cupboard. We shall eat in the dining room.’
They scampered into another room. There was a long table in it. ‘Jump up,’ said the town mouse. ‘You can eat anything you like.’ The town mouse climbed up the table leg, and on to the table. The country mouse followed.
On the table the country mouse saw plates of bread and butter, jam and honey, and cheese. There was a cake full of currants and raisins. Another cake had icing on it, and there were different kinds of biscuits. A jug of water stood in the middle of the table.
The country mouse took a sip of honey. Then he nibbled a small piece of cake. He had never eaten anything so good.
Suddenly the door opened. The two mice jumped off the table, and hid under it. The country mouse was very frightened. A woman came in. She put another cake on the table. She did not see the mice, and she went away.
After a long time, the town mouse and the country mouse climbed back on to the table. The country mouse began to nibble another piece of cake.
Then they heard a dog barking. The dog ran into the room and began to sniff all round the table.
The mice hid behind a big cake. The woman came back.
‘Naughty dog!’ she said. ‘You must not steal the cakes.’ She chased the dog out of the room.
The town mouse began to eat again. ‘We must hurry.’ He said. ‘I am not afraid of the dog, but there is a cat here is too.’
But the country mouse was running away. ‘ No thank you,’ he said. ‘I am going home. This house is too dangerous for me. My house is small, and my food is plain, but I can live in peace and quiet.’
The country mouse went back to his home in the field of barley. He was happy with all his family around him.