The Hungry Mouse

Short Story for children - 'The Hungry Mouse'

(This is a story about a mouse who was hungry for many days, and his greediness paid nothing but only punishment for himself)

Once there lived a mouse that was hungry and could find no food at all. He looked for food here and there and everywhere. But had a very tough time finding food in or around him. The mouse had no food for many days and made strenuous efforts to get his food. But all his efforts were in vain because there was no food anywhere. Hence, the mouse grew very thin as the days passed by.

One fine day the hungry mouse was passing through a junk of sacks. He was very tired and disappointed with his empty stomach. Just then he could find a basket full of corn. The mouse was astonished at the first glance of the corns and felt very pleased. There was a small hole in the basket. The tiny hole was just sufficient enough for the mouse to get into the basket. The mouse was very eager to eat those corns and without any second thought, he found a solution for his hunger.

The mouse easily crept inside the basket through the hole and began to eat the corn greedily. As because the mouse was very hungry, he ate a large amount of corn without realising anything. He continuously ate more and more corns one after the other. The mouse thought, "So many corns are here, I will eat as much as I want to fill my stomach for the next few days."
The mouse did not stop eating and his stomach gradually started getting bigger in size. After eating all the corn, he had grown very fat. And it was too late for him to realise later that he ate a lot more than what actually was needed for his hunger. But the mouse felt satisfying by finishing up eating all the corns.

Now the mouse tried to come out of the basket, but unfortunately, he could not. Because the tiny hole was too small and could not accommodate the mouse with his big stomach. As now the mouse was too fat to pass through the hole, he realized his mistake. The mouse started screaming, "Oh God! Please help me to go out of this basket. Let me come out, how can I come out?"

The mouse was scared for his life. If anyone finds him in the basket, he shall be trapped forever and his life would be ceased to death. Hence the mouse kept screaming for help fearing for his life.

Just then a cat heard the mouse's loud voice and came along. The cat asked the mouse what happened. The mouse narrated the whole story and asked for the solution to the cat. The cat said, "You have to wait till you become thin again to come out of the basket."

The mouse remained inside the basket and waited till he would return back to a thinner size. He was in the similar situation as earlier because he was supposed to starve again, but this time he was in a trap. The mouse could do nothing but only fear for his life till he got out of the basket.

Moral: Anything that is too much is good for nothing.

Reference: Various.

More Stories for children on this blog-
The Peacock and the Crane
Honesty is the best Policy
The Ant and the Dove
The Fox and the Grapes
Magic of Patience
The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Two Pots
The Foolish Bear
Two Silly Goats

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