Posts filed under ‘.mouse’
A Thanksgiving Fable
It was a hungry pussy cat,
upon Thanksgiving morn,
And she watched a thankful little mouse,
that ate an ear of corn.
“If I ate that thankful little mouse,
how thankful he should be,
When he has made a meal himself,
to make a meal for me!
“Then with his thanks for having fed,
and his thanks for feeding me,
With all his thankfulness inside,
how thankful I shall be!”
Thus mused the hungry pussy cat,
upon Thanksgiving Day;
But the little mouse had overheard
and declined (with thanks) to stay.
El ratoncito Miguel
El ratoncito Miguel,
el ratoncito Miguel,
aquí ha venido
muy contento a bailar,
porque el gato Micifús,
metido en la casa está,
sin sospechar esta fiesta de hoy.
Silencio no hay que gritar,
no se vaya a despertar,
bailemos sin alborotar,
porque tambien el ratón,
puede tener corazón,
para cantar, para reír, para soñar.
La cosa está,
que horripila y mete miedo de verdad
y usted verá,
como de hambre un ratón se morirá.
No hay queso ya,
ni mucho menos una lasca de jamón,
vamos a ver,
quién va arrancarle a Micifús
el corazón.
Silencio no hay que gritar,
no se vaya a despertar,
bailemos sin alborotar,
porque tambien el ratón,
puede tener corazón,
para cantar, para reír, para soñar.
Open House
If I were a tree
I’d want to see
a bird with a song
on a branch of me.
I’d want a quick
little squirrel to run
up and down
and around, for fun.
I’d want the cub
of a bear to call,
and a porcupine, big,
and a tree toad, small.
I’d want a katydid
out of sight
on one of my leaves
to sing at night.
And down by my roots
I’d want a mouse
with six little mouselings
in her house.
Une souris verte
Une souris verte
Qui courait dans l’herbe,
Je l’attrape par la queue
Je la montre à ces messieurs
Ces messieurs me disent
Trempez la dans l’huile
Trempez la dans l’eau,
Ca fera un escargot tout chaud
Je la mets dans un tiroir
Elle me dit : Il fait trop noir (bis)
Une souris verte
Qui courait dans l’herbe,
Je l’attrape par la queue
Je la montre à ces messieurs
Ces messieurs me disent
Trempez la dans l’huile
Trempez la dans l’eau,
Ca fera un escargot tout chaud
Je la mets dans un tiroir
Elle me dit : Il fait trop noir (bis)
Je la mets dans mon chapeau
Elle me dit : Il fait trop chaud (bis)
Une souris verte
Qui courait dans l’herbe,
Je l’attrape par la queue
Je la montre à ces messieurs
Ces messieurs me disent
Trempez la dans l’huile
Trempez la dans l’eau,
Ca fera un escargot tout chaud
Je la mets dans un tiroir
Elle me dit : Il fait trop noir (bis)
Je la mets dans mon chapeau
Elle me dit : Il fait trop chaud (bis)
Je la mets dans l’creux d’ma main
Elle me dit : Oui là c’est bien !
annuaire-enfants-kibodio
Belling the Cat
Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat.
Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case.
“You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her.
I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighborhood.”
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?”
The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:
“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”
MISS JANE HAD A BAG
THE ROLE OF CATS IN NURSERY RHYMES
by Sarah Hartwell
Miss Jane had a bag, and a mouse was in it,
She opened the bag, he was out in a minute;
The Cat saw him jump, and run under the table,
And the dog said, catch him, puss, soon as you’re able.
I can personally relate to this one! When bringing in a sack of coal one evening, I was unaware that a mouse was inside the sack. This was in the days before I had cats of my own. The mouse was contained in one room and a neighbour’s cat was borrowed (with permission) – the idea being to shut the cat in for an hour or so. Sapphire dispatched the mouse within seconds of entering the room.
PUSSY AND ROBIN REDBREAST
THE ROLE OF CATS IN NURSERY RHYMES
by Sarah Hartwell
Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,
Up went Pussy-cat, and down went he;
Down came Pussy-cat, and away Robin ran;
Says little Robin Redbreast, “Catch me if you can.”
Little Robin Redbreast flew upon a wall,
Pussy-cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall;
Little Robin chirp’d and sang, and what did Pussy say?
Pussy-cat said “Mew,” and Robin flew away.
Though some people have suggested the cat and bird game is a political reference, this rhyme does not appear to have a historical origin. It tells young children that cats hunt birds and it helps them identify the English robin (a small brown bird with red breast and white belly). It also teaches very young children that birds fly, but cats don’t! The following verse about animal enemies, though a rhyme in its own right, is also found in some variants of “Froggie Goes A-Courting”.
The old black cat jumped over the wall
And ate the rat, the mouse, and all.
If you want any more you can sing it yourself
The book lies on the pantry shelf.
Another cat and bird rhyme:
Ding, dong, darrow,
The cat and the sparrow;
The little dog has burnt his tail,
And he shall be hang’d to-morrow
A further cat-and-bird rhyme is the “Pussy cat ate the ducklings” variant rhyme mentioned earlier.
