A little hungry Mouse found his way one day into a basket of
corn. He had to squeeze himself a good deal to get through the
narrow opening between the strips of the basket. But the corn was
tempting and the Mouse was determined to get in. When at last he
had succeeded, he gorged himself to bursting. Indeed he became
about three times as big around the middle as he was when he went
in.
At last he felt satisfied and dragged himself to the opening to
get out again. But the best he could do was to get his head out.
So there he sat groaning and moaning, both from the discomfort
inside him and his anxiety to escape from the basket.
Just then a Weasel came by. He understood the situation quickly.
"My friend," he said, "I know what you've been doing. You've been
stuffing. That's what you get. You will have to stay there till
you feel just like you did when you went in. Good night, and good
enough for you."
And that was all the sympathy the poor Mouse got.
_Greediness leads to misfortune._