The Greedy Little Mouse

Once upon a time, in a large, old house, lived a tiny Mouse. He was a very cute mouse, with round ears and a twitchy nose, but he had one big problem: he was very, very greedy. He was never satisfied with crumbs. He always wanted the biggest piece of cheese, the whole cookie, or the entire slice of bread. “More, more, more!” was his favorite motto.

One sunny morning, the Mouse was scurrying around the kitchen. He sniffed the air. Sniff, sniff. “Rice!” he squeaked. “Delicious, sweet rice!” He followed the smell to the pantry. There, sitting in the corner, was a huge woven basket. It was filled to the brim with fresh grains of rice and corn.

The basket had a heavy wooden lid, but there was a tiny, narrow hole between the weave of the basket. The Mouse peeked inside. It was like a mountain of treasure! “I must get in,” he thought. He squeezed his head through the hole. Then his shoulders. Then his tummy. It was a tight squeeze because he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so he was thin enough. Pop! He fell inside onto the soft bed of rice.

“Heaven!” cried the Mouse. He began to eat. He nibbled the corn. He crunched the rice. He ate and ate and ate. “I should stop now,” he thought after an hour. “But it tastes so good!” So he ate some more. His tummy grew round. Then it grew tight. Then it grew as big as a balloon. Finally, he couldn’t eat another bite. He lay on his back, patting his giant, full belly. “I am the happiest mouse in the world,” he burped.

Eventually, it was time to go home. He waddled over to the small hole. He poked his head out. That was easy. But when he tried to push his tummy through… Stuck! He pushed harder. “Oof!” He pulled back and tried again. “Unnh!” It was no use. His belly was now three times bigger than the hole!

“Oh no!” cried the Mouse. “I am trapped!” He began to cry. A rabbit passing by the window heard him. “Why are you crying, little mouse?” asked the Rabbit. “I made a hole and came in,” sobbed the Mouse, “but now I cannot get out!” The Rabbit looked at the mouse’s giant tummy and laughed kindly. “That is because you ate too much, my friend. You entered thin, but you have become fat.”

“What should I do?” asked the Mouse in panic. “The cat might come!” “You have to wait,” said the Rabbit. “Wait until your tummy shrinks.”

The greedy Mouse had to stay in the basket for two whole days. He couldn’t eat anything—not even one grain of rice—because he wanted to get out so badly. He was bored, lonely, and scared. Finally, after two days of fasting, his tummy went back to normal. He squeezed out of the hole and ran all the way home. “Never again!” he promised himself. “I will only eat what I need.”

Moral of the Story: Greed can turn a feast into a trap. It is better to take what you need than to take all that you want.

Moral: Greed can trap you.