Belling the Cat

Belling the Cat. Once upon a time the mice were trying to decide how to keep themselves safe from the cat. The various mice proposed all kinds of plans, but none of them met with general approval. Finally one of the mice said, "A bell should be tied to the cat; then we will hear right away when he is coming and we'll easily make our escape." They all praised this wise mouse, delighted by the plan he had proposed. "So go ahead and tie on the bell," they said. The mouse replied, "I am the one who came up with the plan; let someone else put it into operation." So the plan turned out to be a failure, because no one could be found who was willing to bell the cat.

Mures, Feles et Tintinnabulum. Mures aliquando consultabant quomodo se a Fele tueri possent. Multa proponebantur a singulis muribus, sed nihil placebat. Postremo unus dixit, "Tintinnabulum Feli annectendum est; tum statim audiemus cum veniet, facileque effugiemus." Omnes mures laeti praedicant prudentem consilii auctorem. "Iam tu" inquiunt "annecte tintinnabulum." "Ego vero" respondet ille "consilium dedi; alius operam sumat." Irritum consilium fuit, quoniam qui Feli annecteret tintinnabulum non reperiebatur.

Notes. This is Gildersleeve 18, which is Perry 613 in Perry's classification scheme. It is not a classical Aesop's fable, but it is well-known in the Middle Ages. Of the many different versions you can find of this fable, the reason I like this particular version best is that the mice directly command the mouse who proposed the plan to carry it out, and he pointedly. In other versions of the fable, the mice usually just ask in general, "who will bell the cat?" and no one is willing to take on the task. One of the earliest versions I know of is this account in Odo of Cheriton.