A1 Reading Plan · Week 2 · Day 8 of 30

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

From Aesop's Fables·~300 words·~3 min read

Two mice visit each other. Country quiet versus city danger. The longest Aesop on this plan.

0:00 / 0:00Speed

BetaAudio read-along is new — we’re still fine-tuning the word-by-word timing, so a word may drift now and then.

A Town Mouse and a Country Mouse were acquaintances, and the Country Mouse one day invited his friend to come and see him at his home in the fields. The Town Mouse came, and they sat down to a dinner of barleycorns and roots, the latter of which had a distinctly earthy flavour. The fare was not much to the taste of the guest, and presently he broke out with "My poor dear friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see how I fare! My larder is a regular horn of plenty. You must come and stay with me, and I promise you you shall live on the fat of the land." So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with him, and showed him into a larder containing flour and oatmeal and figs and honey and dates. The Country Mouse had never seen anything like it, and sat down to enjoy the luxuries his friend provided: but before they had well begun, the door of the larder opened and some one came in. The two Mice scampered off and hid themselves in a narrow and exceedingly uncomfortable hole. Presently, when all was quiet, they ventured out again; but some one else came in, and off they scuttled again. This was too much for the visitor. "Good-bye," said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I can see, but you are surrounded by dangers; whereas at home I can enjoy my simple dinner of roots and corn in peace."

Words light up as they are read aloud. Tap any word in the story to add it to your vocabulary.

Finished? Do the quick check.A few short questions on the story. A minute now is what makes the words and ideas actually stick.Take the quiz ↓
Quick check

Pass it to add Day 8 to your shelf

5 questions · pass 4 of 5. Scroll up to re-read the story any time.

Question 1 of 5vocabulary
What does 'larder' mean in the story?
Question 2 of 5vocabulary
What does 'scampered' mean in the story?
Question 3 of 5vocabulary
What does 'luxury' mean in 'lap of luxury'?
Question 4 of 5comprehension
Why did the Country Mouse decide to go home?
Question 5 of 5comprehension
What kind of food did the Country Mouse serve at first?
0 of 5 answered
Next story →
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
Enjoying the stories?

Get the next shelf of stories

Leave your email and we will let you know the moment we add a new shelf. You will also save your progress and vocabulary across devices.

Source: V. S. Vernon Jones translation, public domain. Provided by Project Gutenberg.