A Field Mouse had a friend who lived in a house in town. Now the Town
Mouse was asked by the Field Mouse to dine with him, and out he went and
sat down to a meal of corn and wheat.
“Do you know, my friend,” said he, “that you live a mere ant’s life out
here? Why, I have all kinds of things at home; come and enjoy them.”
So the two set off for town, and there the Town Mouse showed his beans
and meal, his dates, too; his cheese and fruit and honey. And as the
Field Mouse ate, drank, and was merry, he thought how rich his friend was
and how poor he was.
But as they ate, a man all at once opened the door, and the mice were in
such fear that they ran into a crack.
Then when they would eat some nice figs, in came a maid to get a pot of
honey or a bit of cheese; and when they saw her, they hid in a hole.
Then the Field Mouse would eat no more, but said to the Town Mouse: “Do
as you like, my good friend; eat all you want, have your fill of good
things, but you are always in fear of your life. As for me, poor Mouse,
who have only corn and wheat, I will live on at home, in no fear of any
one.”
—_Aesop._
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