There were many mice¹ in a house. The man of the house got² a cat. The cat killed³ many of the mice.

房子里有许多老鼠。房主找来一只猫，这只猫吃掉了很多老鼠。

Then the oldest mouse said,“All mice must come to my hole tonight, and we will think what we can do about this cat.”

这时，最老的一只老鼠说：“今天晚上,所有的老鼠必须到我的洞里来，我们要想办法，来对付这只猫。”

All the mice came⁴. Many mice spoke⁵, but none⁶ knew what to do. At last a young mouse stood⁷ up and said,“We must put a bell on the cat. Then, when the cat comes near, we shall⁸ hear the bell and run away and hide⁹. So the cat will not catch any more mice.”

所有的老鼠都来了。很多老鼠都发言了，但是，谁也不知道该怎么办。最后，有一只年轻的老鼠站起来说：“我们必须在猫的身上挂一个铃铛，这样一来，当猫走近时，我们听到铃声，就可以躲起来了，猫就再也抓不到老鼠了。”

Then the old mouse asked,“Who will put the bell on the cat？”No mouse answered.

这时，那只年老的老鼠说：“谁去给猫挂铃铛呢？”没有一只老鼠回答。

He waited, but still no one answered.

它等了一会儿，仍然没人回答。

At last he said,“It is not hard to say things; but it is harder to do them.”

最后，它说：“说起来容易，但做起来难啊。”