Penelope was a mouse; she lived in a cabin in the woods. One
day her cousin Margaret the Mouse came and visited Penelope in her cabin in the
woods. Penelope was a Country Mouse and had spent days preparing the meal they
would eat that day. Waiting on the rock, that was her table, was what Penelope
considered a feast. She served acorns, grass, and some of her other favorite
delicacies she found around the woods. Margaret only ate a little of the food
that was in front of her, and Penelope could tell that she did not like it very
much.
Throughout the meal Margaret chatted on and on about her
life in the city. You see, Margaret was a City Mouse she lived in one of the
finest apartments that money could buy. Penelope started to become jealous that
even though she worked so hard she did not have all the wonderful things that
Margaret talked about. She had never heard about air conditioning or showers
before.
They went to sleep that night nestled in some warm grass.
The next morning Penelope asked Margaret if she could go with her to visit her
apartment. Margaret was so happy to say yes and get back to her warm showers.
When they arrived at Margaret’s Pent House the footman greeted them at the
door. The footman Benny the Raccoon promptly opened the door for them and ushered them
inside and carried all their belongings. Margaret had never seen such splendor
in her life. When they made it all the way to the top Margaret never said thank
you to Benny for his help and yelled at him to put the bags down and leave.
Finally, they walked into the kitchen and Penelope saw a
feast of no comparison being set out on the table by Margaret’s cook Francine
the French Bulldog. Francine immediately asked them to sit down and enjoy the
meal. The first thing out of Margaret’s mouth was something rude, telling
Francine that she messed up the whole meal. Penelope was very confused why
Margaret would be so mean to someone who was helping her. Throughout the night Margaret was very rude
to everyone that worked for her. Penelope felt very sad; even though Margaret
had a beautiful house she was a mean person.
As Penelope was leaving in a hurry that night she took the
time to say one last thing to Margaret.
“Even though I don’t have what you have and I have to work
for what I do have, I never treat those around me without respect,” she said as
she scurried home to her cabin.
Author’s Note. This story was based on the fable called
TheTown Mouse and the Country Mouse. The original story has a Town Mouse that
visits a Country Mouse. The Town Mouse does not really like what the Country
Mouse provides for dinner, or her living situation. That night the Country
Mouse dreams about all the luxuries the Town Mouse has, and the next day is
asked by the Town Mouse to visit her place. When they arrive they sit down to a
nice feast but are soon interrupted by the meow of a Cat, and rush to find some
hiding place where they stayed for a long time. They later came out to see the
servants and the House Dog come into the room. The Country Mouse was very
afraid and left the place saying she would rather have nothing and be safe than
have luxuries and be in danger. My version of this story was similar because I
talked about two mice that lived in the city and country and visited each
other. But I decided that they would be the owners of their own places,
essentially getting rid of humans in the story. When the City Mouse Margaret
describes her place, Penelope gets jealous that she does not have those
luxuries. When they travel to the city Penelope see how rude Margaret is and
that she is not appreciative of the things she has. In the end instead of the
normal ending Penelope understands how it is important to treat people with
respect.
Bibliography:
Aesop for Children, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter
(1919)
