The Mouse King...

Long time ago in far far away land there was a big male mouse.  He was very strong and fierce.  He could beat his enemies  with his teeth and claw.  He was so big for a mouse that cats did not want to eat him.  Although there were many cats in his neighborhood, he was safe.    They even got along well.

As days passed by the big mouse grew stronger and stronger.  When he was as big as a grown up male cat he was the strongest mouse in his area.  So he wanted to become a king.  His intention was inspired by human being.  As he lived in a ditch in front of a luxurious house, he often saw a rich man who lived there.  He never saw the man working.  Many people worked for him instead.  Then he told the cats about his intention.  First they laughed at him.

‘You want to be a king?  Come on!’

“Yes, please allow me to become the king of mouse here’

The most influential cat said :

‘I am the number one cat here but still I am not a king’

But suddenly he got a brilliant idea. 

‘Oh, OK then.  If you really want to become the mouse king I and the whole cat community will fully support you.  Anybody stands in your way will become our enemy.  If you need help,  just call us.  We will come immediately and ready to help twenty for hours a day.  But there is a condition’

‘What’s that?’

‘You must give us ten mice per day for the rest of your life’

‘Oh, that’s not fair.  You do nothing and you ask for ten mice per day?’

‘You said we do nothing?  We support you.  I know there is a strong mouse over there ready to eliminate you.  In one year he will be stronger than you.  He will be more than ready to be a king.  I believe he will be ready to give us fifteen mice per day.  So the choice is yours’

OK, I agree.  But please help me to eliminate him’

‘You are very wise.  Of course we will eliminate him. There is no problem for us.   From now on you are the king of all mouse in this area.  Your words will become law’

‘Thank you very much for your support.  I invite you to my inauguration tomorrow’.

‘I have a better idea’ Said number one cat.

‘You’d better cancel your inauguration.  Tell your humble citizen that your king is human being.  Tell them that you will represent the king.  You rule on behalf of the king.  That way you will be more powerful’

‘Thanks for your brilliant idea’

The next day the big mouse called all mouse in the neighborhood.  In front of them he made a declaration.

‘From now on our area become a kingdom of mice.  The ruler is His Majesty King Prabu.  But since he is very busy, he cannot take care of the day to day operation of our community.  Therefore he appointed me as your chief.  I will work for you.  I will serve you.  So please obey all my command.  Dissidents will punished.  And here is my first order.  All of you must work hard to provide offerings for our king.  The offering must be put in front of his palace, here in front of my house.  And everyday the king needs ten mice to work for him’

Since then on they gave offerings of food, fruits, and vegetables to their king.  They brought them to big mouse’s house in the ditch.  And the big mouse gave ten mice daily to king’s palace.  The big mouse was very happy because he did not have to work anymore.  The cats were very happy because they did not have to hunt.

But then something went wrong.  The big mouse was taking ten mice to the palace when it happened.  One of them was a strong male mouse.  As they arrived in the palace, he was shocked when he saw cats had been waiting for them.  He was told that they would work for the king.  He realized that he would be a victim.  Then he ran as fast as he could.  The cats chased him.  Luckily he could hide in a ditch.  After that he told the  mouse community. 

‘Hey, the big mouse is a liar!  He betrayed us.  He sacrificed us to the cats.  I saw our friends were eaten by cats.  I am sure he eats our offerings too’

His words traveled fast.  All members of the mouse community knew this secret.  soon they were very angry.  The crowd of mice then came to the big mouse’s house.

‘Hey big mouse, why do you sacrificed our friends to the cats?

‘It was a mistake.  The cats attacked us when we were there’.

‘Liar !  You must be punished !  We will tell the king about this’.

‘I am your king !  I am the real king.  Obey my command!’

‘Liar! Bring him to the king!’

The angry crowd got out of control.  Then they attacked the big mouse.  The big mouse was a strong and brave mouse so he fought back.  He could kill two or three of them.  But he was outnumbered.  When he was exhausted he could not fight anymore.  Finally the crowd of mice killed him.   The big mouse died a tragic death.  His body was bitten to pieces.  Mice remembered him as a liar and an oppressor who betrayed his own community.

Task by Nurfadilla Rahman

Created By: http://www.englishindo.com/