The Cat and the Mouse

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Cat playing with mouse
Halfdan Egedius, 1894

“There was once upon a time I swept my floor,” said the mouse.

“So it wasn’t dusty, then,” said the cat.

“Then I found me a shilling,” said the mouse.

“So you weren’t penniless, then,” said the cat.

“Then I bought myself a bit of meat,” said the mouse.

“So you didn’t go hungry, then,” said the cat.

“Then I laid it on the fire to roast it,” said the mouse.

“So you didn’t eat it cold, then,” said the cat.

“Then I laid it out on the roof to cool it,” said the mouse.

“So you didn’t burn yourself, then,” said the cat.

“Then came a bird and snatched it,” said the mouse.

“If she snatched it, then I shall snatch you,” said the cat, and he ate the mouse up.

– Rikard Berge. Norske folkeeventyr. Kristiania: Cappelen, 1914 (p. 36).

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Categories Folktale, Norway