The mice held a grand meeting to discuss an important matter.
The oldest mouse elder, filled with sorrow and frustration, said:
“Recently, a cat has appeared and has been relentlessly hunting us. Whenever we go out to search for food, it catches us. If we stay home, we starve; if we go out, we get caught and eaten. We’ve gathered here today to figure out how to avoid the cat and escape in time—otherwise, our mouse clan will soon face extinction!”
Everyone started talking at once, offering various suggestions, but each one was rejected.
At that moment, a young mouse stood up and said, “You’re all fools! I have a brilliant idea. We can tie a bell around the cat’s neck. When it moves, the bell will ring. As soon as we hear the bell, we’ll know the cat is coming, and we can run away in time!”
“Great idea! Truly brilliant!”
The crowd burst into applause and excitement.
But the mouse elder said, “It is a good idea. But who will go and tie the bell around the cat’s neck?”
Suddenly, the room fell silent. Tying a bell on the cat meant walking into the jaws of death—no one wanted to risk their life for it.
This story shows that saying something is one thing, but actually doing it is quite another.
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