This is one of the great folktales for kids. Once upon a time, in a village in India near a forest lived a well-known wizard. One day, when the wizard was eating his lunch, a mouse fell down from the sky.
Shocked, the wizard looked up. “Oh, so you dropped from the beak of a crow! The fall saved you from being the crow’s meal today, my little friend,” the wizard chuckled. He picked up the little mouse and treated its injuries from the fall. “Now, have some food,” he said to the mouse. The humble wizard brought a few grains of rice for the little mouse. The mouse ate the grains and slept soundly. From that day onwards, the mouse became the wizard’s pet. Also, read The Town Mouse And The Country Mouse.
One day, when the wizard was returning from a trip to the village, he saw a cat chase his pet. “Now, this cannot continue. If this continues, my poor pet will be killed,” he thought. Then he had an idea. “Let’s turn this mouse into a cat! In that manner, the mouse can protect itself against the cats!” And so, the wizard turned his pet into a cat. Now, the mouse, that turned into a cat lived peacefully.
Soon, a dog started chasing the wizard’s beloved cat. So, the wizard changed the cat into a dog. “Now, that dog won’t be able to hurt you,” the wizard said to the cat. But that wasn’t the end of all problems! One day soon, a tiger strayed from his path in the woods and started eyeing the dog. “Oh no!” exclaimed the wizard. Quickly he turned the dog into a massive tiger. So, his pet mouse, that now became a tiger fought defended himself against the other tiger. Quite happy and satisfied with himself the wizard went to take a nap. You may also like to read, The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz Summary.
Even though the mouse was now a tiger, the wizard treated the tiger as though it was a mouse. Whenever people passed by the wizard’s hut, they would get scared. The wizard would laugh and tell them that it was just a mouse. “Don’t be scared. This tiger won’t eat us or scare us. I turned the mouse into a tiger, for his good. This way he won’t be eaten!”
But the mouse wasn’t too happy with this. “As long as this wizard stays here, I’ll have no choice but to live like a mouse.My true nature would be known by all. I have to kill the wizard if I want to live like a tiger!” So, the mouse planned to kill the wizard.
But when the mouse, still a tiger, walked towards the wizard with the intention to kill him, the wizard knew what the tiger wanted to do. Before the tiger could pounce on the wizard, the tiger was turned into a mouse! There was no tiger, only a little mouse. The wizard was disappointed with his pet. “Whatever you are, big or small, never forget to be humble,” the wizard told the tiger. Also, read The Greedy Mouse.