The Thieving Little Mouse

Once there was a little mouse who lived in a hole in the ground next to a mansion. The mouse was so small that one could hold it with two fingers. He was gray and white, with big ears and eyes. He never had left the hole in his whole life. One day it rained so hard that his hole was filled with water, and it flooded. He was forced outside of the hole.

Since the little mouse had never gone outside of the hole before he had to wait three days before he could see in the day light. Finally, he was able to go and look upon where he was. He discovered that there was a mansion near where he lived. So, he ventured out to it.

The little mouse scrambled under the front door of the large manor and looked upon it for food. Following a sent he found himself in the kitchen. The kitchen was full of people cooking with fire and water.

The little mouse found a crumb of bread on the ground and began to nibble at it. The crumb was so large for him to eat that if he tried to carry it upon his back he would surely be crushed in a second. After eating and eating for about half an hour, yet making hardly a dent into the crumb, a cook saw the nasty little thing, and was about to crush it with his foot, until the little mouse shrieked and said with a squeak, "Oh good cook! Don't crush me with your food! What good would it do for anyone? This crumb was going to be thrown away anyway" The cook then said, "you are a thief, no matter how small the crumb is or how wanted it is, it is still ours. You will die for your actions!"

The mouse died in an instant beneath the cook's foot. Now may all know that stealing is wrong whatever the case, and no matter how wanted it is.