There were many mice¹ in a house. The man of the house got² a cat. The cat killed³ many of the mice.
　　Then the oldest mouse said⁴, " All mice must come to my hole tonight, and we will think what we can do about this cat.’
　　All the mice came⁵. Many mice spoke⁶, but none⁷ knew what to do. At last a young mouse stood⁸ up and said, "We must put a bell on the cat. Then, when the cat comes near, we shall⁹ hear the bell and run away and hide¹⁰. So the cat will not catch any more mice.’
　　Then the old mouse asked, " Who will put the bell on the cat?"
　　No mouse answered.
　　He waited; but still no one answered.
　　At last he said, "It is not hard to say things; but it is harder to do them."

　　房屋里有许多老鼠，房主找来一只猫，这只猫吃掉了很多老鼠。
　　这时，最老的一只老鼠就说：“今天晚上，所有的老鼠必须到我的洞里来，我们要想点办法，怎样来对付这只猫。”
　　所有的老鼠都来了，许多老鼠都发言了，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安放一个铃，这样一来，当猫走近时，我们就会听到铃声，跑开躲起来，这样，猫就再也抓不到老鼠了。”这时，年纪大的老鼠说：“谁去给猫身上安铃呢？没有一只老鼠回答。
　　它等了一会儿，仍然没人回答。
　　最后，它说：“说起来容易，但做起来难啊。”