The clever mouse and the greedy eagle stories for kids in English

Adaptation of the popular fable of the Andes

Far away from here, at the top of a steep mountain in the Andes, lived an eagle that spent the day scanning the horizon in search of some prey.

One dull morning, with his powerful dark eyes, he made out a mouse that was scampering nervously on the dry land. It flapped its wings vigorously, took flight, and planted itself next to him before the little animal could react.

– Hello, mouse! May I know what you are doing? You keep moving from here to there!

The rodent was very frightened when he saw the gigantic body of the eagle in front of him, but he pretended to be calm to pretend that he did not feel even a bit of fear.

– I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just looking for food for my little children.

Actually the eagle cared very little about the life of the mouse. The greeting was not out of politeness or self-interest, but to gain his trust and be able to catch him easily. It was hot and he didn’t feel like trying too hard!

As he already had it within his grasp, he said bluntly:

– Well, I’m sorry for you, but I’m very hungry and I’m going to eat you right now.

The little mouse felt a nasty cramp run through its body. He had to escape anyway, but his chances were slim because the eagle was so much bigger and stronger than he was. There was only one resource left to try to save his life: ingenuity.

Steeling herself, she puffed out her chest and raised her voice.

– Listen to me carefully, I propose a deal! You don’t eat me but in return I give you my eight children.

The eagle was thoughtful for a few seconds. The offer seemed quite advantageous for her!

– Your children? … And you say there are eight?

– Yes, there are eight! I didn’t think about it too much, because clearly you win, don’t you think?

Gluttony and above all, greed got the better of the eagle.

– Okay … I accept, I accept! Take me to your young immediately! Also, I haven’t eaten in hours and if I don’t eat something, I’m going to pass out.

The mouse, sweating profusely but trying to stay calm, began to walk followed by the eagle, who was on his heels and kept an eye on him. Upon reaching a fist-sized cave, he said:

– You are too old to enter my house. Wait out here, right now I bring you my little ones.

– Okay, but you better not delay.

The mouse poked its head into the dark hole and disappeared underground. A few minutes passed and the eagle began to worry because the mouse did not return.

– Come on, you fucking rodent! Hurry, I don’t have all day!

The eagle stood still in front of the mole for almost an hour and tired of waiting, she realized that the mouse had made fun of her. He brought his eye closer to the hole and thanks to his good eyesight he made out a deep tunnel that communicated with a lot of kilometer galleries, each one in one direction.

– This mouse has fled with its young through one of the passageways! He made fun of me!

Angry with herself and embarrassed for not being smarter, she lamented:

– That passes me for greedy! I should have eaten the mouse!

This is how the cunning little mouse managed to save his life and take his beloved family far away, while the eagle had to return to the top of the mountain on an empty stomach.

Moral: This fabulous teaches us that sometimes the desire to have more than we need makes us end up with nothing. Always remember what the old saying goes: “A bird in hand is better than a hundred flying”