Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who was quite vain, known far and wide by all the other creatures for her attitude. One day, as she was sweeping her tidy little house, she stumbled upon something glimmering on the floor. It was a gold coin! How excited the little mouse was! She began to ponder what she might purchase with her newfound treasure: 'I’ll buy myself some delicious sweets! No, no, no, for too many sweets might make my teeth fall out... I'll buy a scrumptious cake! No, no, no, for too much cake might give me a tummy ache... I know what I shall buy! I'll go to the shop and get a red ribbon to tie around my tail to make myself look even prettier.'
The little mouse tucked the ribbon safely into her pocket and without delay went to the shop, where she bought a lovely red ribbon and returned home. The next morning, she fashioned a charming bow on her tail with the red ribbon and stepped out onto the balcony for all the other animals to admire her. And she looked so delightful that admirers soon gathered.
The first to arrive was a rooster who stood beneath the balcony, crowing: 'Oh, little mouse, you who are so lovely... marry me and I shall build you a charming little house!' The mouse, uncertain, replied, 'I don’t know, I don’t know... What noise do you make at night?' 'I crow like this: cock-a-doodle-doo! cock-a-doodle-doo!' 'Oh no, no, no,' said the mouse, 'I shall not marry you, for that would frighten me so.'
Disappointed, the rooster departed, and along came a dog, who also wished to wed the little mouse: 'Oh, dear little mouse of my life, little mouse of my heart! Marry me and I shall give you all my love!' But the mouse remained undecided. 'Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know... tell me, what noise do you make at night?' 'At night you will hear me bark: woof, woof!' 'No, no, no,' the mouse replied. 'That would scare me, scare me, so with you, I shall not stay.'
Sadly, the dog too did not succeed, but after him, a pig appeared: 'Beautiful little mouse, with a red ribbon as if it were a rose, marry me and become my wife!' 'I don’t know, I don’t know... What sound do you make at night?' 'You will hear me grunt before I go to sleep: oink, oink! oink, oink!' And the pig too failed to convince the mouse. 'Oh no, no, no. Those grunts would frighten me too much! With you, I shall not wed!'
The last of the suitors was a white cat, with a gleaming coat and captivating gaze. With his soft voice, which sounded like a meow, he said to the little mouse: 'Marry me, lovely little mouse.' 'Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know. What noise do you make at night?' 'I like to meow like this: meow, meow.' The sweet voice of the cat finally convinced the little mouse... 'Yes, yes! With you, I shall marry!'
Then the little mouse, very trusting, descended from the balcony and leapt into the arms of the cat. But the cat, who only wanted a tasty morsel, pounced upon her to catch her with a swift paw.
Fortunately, as the little mouse was not only vain but also quite lucky, she managed to slip away from the cat, who ended up crashing against a wall. And so it was that the lucky little mouse saved herself, for otherwise, this tale would have ended much more grimly... And they lived happily ever after. The End.
