Who Will Bell the Cat?
The Nibblers Family and Their Grand Ideas
Once upon a time, in the attic of a big house, lived the Nibblers family. No, not a family of people, but a family of mice.
The Nibblers were a very proud family. You see, they weren't just any mice. Each one had wonderful ideas to improve their lives.
— What if we built our own kitchen? And, and we bought our food from the store? — Oh, yes, that's right! That would be so much fun! — I have an even better idea. What if we opened our own supermarket? We'd make a great profit and could buy this house! — Oh, yes, that's right! That would be so much fun!
But the ideas were just that: words.
A Proper Feast
— Everyone, listen up! Mrs. Human and her husband have invited some guests for dinner tonight. We all know what that means. We're going to have a feast! — A feast! — I thought he was going to say a party. A feast is much better! — I can already taste the food! — Great! That means I can eat your portion! — Yes, I know, I know. We're all very excited. But we have to do it right. After all, humans are powerful beings who can catch us in the blink of an eye.
— Exactly! Just kidding. Humans can't catch us. Still, we need to be careful. You and I will hide behind the fridge. Once it gets dark, we'll signal for all of you to come up.
Marlin left with Tom to hide behind the fridge. On the way, he told Tom about the idea Jerry Nibbler had.
— You know, Tom, Jerry was saying we should declare war on the humans. The whole planet could be ours. — Wow! That's right, Jerry, seriously! He's very powerful. Did he explain how, though? — Eh, not really. We didn't get to that part. I'm sure he'll figure out a solution. — Oh, absolutely! We Nibblers are so smart!
As darkness fell in the big house, Marlin and Tom signaled the other mice. And there they were: all sorts of dishes on the big wooden table.
— Wow! Mmm! — All the mice were enjoying the feast. — Ow! I'm never going to eat again!
Father's Wisdom
The wisest member of the Nibblers was Father Mouse. All the mice lay sprawled with full bellies, and Marlin went to the corner of the attic where Father Mouse was.
— Hello, Father. Why weren't you at the party today? — I'm too old for parties now, son. I have to watch what I eat. I ate what little Semi brought me from over there. But why aren't you sleeping? — I'm too excited to sleep. Today we won the eating contest against the humans. So I was thinking about Jerry's idea to declare war on the humans. — Declare war on the humans? Have you gone mad? — No! It's a great idea! — It's a useless idea! — Ah! Why are you always so demo... demo... — Demotivating! — Yes, yes, that's the word: demotivating.
— I'm not demotivating you, son. All I'm saying is that an idea, no matter how great, is useless if no one can put it into practice. Just because we have great ideas doesn't mean we are smart and brave. — But our family is smart! You'll see, Father, we'll declare war on the humans and we'll win!
Marlin was very confused. He didn't understand how, if you had a great idea, you weren't considered smart.
A New Cat in the House
The next day, when Mrs. Human entered the kitchen, she got a shock.
— Honey! Would you please come downstairs? — What happened? — Did you eat all the leftovers from last night? — What? No! Absolutely not! I brushed my teeth and went straight to bed. — Hey! Don't lie to me! Remember! There was a lot of food on the table last night. And then, suddenly, in the morning it's gone? You know you have to stick to your diet. That's it! Today you'll only eat fruit. Nothing else. — Yes, but, but I didn't eat it! — Stop lying! — But I'm not lying! I didn't even look at the food!
The humans had no idea about the mice in the attic. Whenever they left food on the table, the mice ate it, and Mrs. Human blamed her husband. Then, one day, as Marlin and Tom nibbled on a piece of bread, Marlin heard something strange.
— Wait! Did you hear that? — Ah, it must be the neighbors' cat, Snuggles. Ah! What kind of name is Snuggles? That cat doesn't seem to snuggle at all. And how do people say she's cute? Cats are monsters! Monsters! — Listen carefully! That's not Snuggles. It's someone else. And it's getting closer!
Marlin and Tom went to see what was happening.
— No, no, no! I can't believe it! They got a cat? A cat? A cat! Oh dear, oh dear! I can't breathe, I can't breathe! Tom, I'm going to die! — Alright, alright. Remember your mental training. Feel the emotion. Observe the back of your hand. And now, what are you aware of? — Oh, yes, oh, yes, that's right! This will work for me. Observe the back of your hand because if the cat smells you, you won't have a hand anymore! It's a disaster! Who gave them the idea to bring a cat home? Those big, furry, whiskered creatures! Do they have whiskers? They look so strange! Weird strands of hair around their mouths! — Marlin, we have them too! — Whose side are you on, anyway? We need to have an emergency meeting!
— How could they do this to us? We were here first! This is our home! — Okay, maybe we're exaggerating. Not all cats eat mice, right? Maybe this cat is a vegetarian. Maybe it eats grass. — This is so silly! I say we live as before! Without fear! — Yes, I agree! Yes, yes, yes! — Good. He's right. This is our home. We were here first. Let's chase this furry creature out of here!
And so it was decided. The mice would live as before and confront the terrible animal.
Fear and Exodus
The mice began to roam the house, a little scared, but brave. But things didn't go as planned.
The family was devastated. Slowly, the mice of the Nibblers family began to leave the house.
— No, guys! We're a family! We can do this! — Oh, come on, Marlin, let's face it. She's a cat, and we're mice. She's never going to let us live here. We had a good life in the attic. For as long as it lasted. We'll never forget the days here.
The family was shrinking. With each passing day, the fear of the cat grew in the Nibblers family. They left the attic one by one. Stuart the dancer, Jenny the smart one, Nibbles the gnawer, they had all left.
The hunt continued. No matter how careful they were, the cat always found them. With each day, it was more dangerous to get food.
The Brilliant Idea: The Bell
— Enough! We have to do something about this cat. I want ideas. Come on! The Nibblers family is famous for its great ideas, aren't we? — Not again! — I, I have an idea! Why don't we go complain to the humans about the cat? We could tell them she's the one eating the food. — What? — That's good thinking, but the problem is that humans aren't educated enough to understand what we have to say. — Yes, exactly! That's the problem! — Come on! Put your Nibbler brains to work! — I know! If you think about it, the problem is actually that we don't see when the cat is coming. Right? I mean, now we're just sitting here nibbling like mice and suddenly this thing appears out of nowhere! — Oh, yes, that's right! True! True! — It happened when I was reading that recipe on the counter. — Oh, who are you kidding? We all know you can't read. You were looking for a lady in the garden. — Quiet, please! Yes, Semi? What were you saying? — Hey! What if we did something that would tell us where the cat is at all times? So, if she's in the room with Mrs. Human, we could sneak into the kitchen. — Hmm, that makes sense, but how will we know that? — Let's bell her! — Huh? What? — Pack her up? I mean, I don't want to be mean, but who could we sell the cat to? I mean, who would buy her from us? — No, not pack her up! Bell her! Let's put a bell around her neck. That way, it'll ring every time she moves. And when we hear the bell, we'll know she's around. — She'll look for us by sniffing, but we won't be here. I'd like to see the look on her face! — Excellent! That's what I call a brilliant idea! You deserve the biggest piece of pie! The biggest! — Yes! — Finally, we'll live in this house without fear! — It's the best idea! — Yes! Those who left are going to be so sorry! We won't run away! This is our home! I'm so proud of you all! You know what? Your idea should be honored, Semi. Therefore, I declare this day in Nibbler history "Bell the Cat Day!" — Yes! Bell! Bell! Bell!
Who Will Bell the Cat?
— May I ask something stupid, though? I'm an old mouse trying to keep up with the new generation, you know. Excuse me for moving slowly, but is anyone sure about this idea? — Of course! What did you think? That we would celebrate without having thought it through? — Come on, Father, we're not just any group that acts without thinking. — Yes, we are a group that doesn't act without thinking, I think. — Very well, I have only one question: Who will bell the cat?
A complete silence fell. The mice looked at each other, hoping a volunteer would appear, but there was no one.
— Well, Jerry could do it! I mean, weren't you thinking of declaring war on the humans? I mean, I say: let's start with the cat. — What? No, I mean I would do it, but I need to lead the army to declare war, right? I mean, have you seen the cat's fangs? — You, you're the leader! Why don't you do it? — What? No! I mean, what would all of you do if something happened to me? No! I can't do that to you! Someone else should go! Come on, tell me: Who will bell the cat?
No one wanted to risk their life. Not Jerry, not even Marlin. After all, it's one thing to say something brave and another to act. And no one in the Nibblers family was brave enough to bell the cat. They all packed their bags and left the attic. And so, that big house became empty of mice.
An idea, no matter how grand, is useless if you cannot put it into practice.
