In a grocer’s shop there lived many mice. There was plenty of food for them in the shop. They ate grains and dry fruits. Bread and biscuits, jam and cheese.
The grocer suffered heavy losses because of the mice. He said to himself, “I must do something to get rid of the mice or some day they will be the end of me.”
One day the grocer brought a big, fat cat to the shop. Now the mice could not move about freely. Every day the cat would catch and kill some of them.
The mice were worried. They held a meeting. All of them said, “We must get rid of the cat somehow.” But what could they do? They had no answer.
Then a smart looking mouse stood up and said, “The cat moves very softly. She takes us unawares. We must tie a ball round her neck.”
Another mouse seconded him, “The bell will ring, when the cat moves. So it will be possible for us to keep at a safe distance from her.”
All the mice welcomed the suggestion with a loud cry of ‘Hurrah!’
Than an old mouse stood up and said, “Stop this rejoicing. Can you tell me who will bell the cat?”
And all of them were quiet. They had no answer.
MORAL: IMPRACTICAL SOLUTIONS ARE OF NO USE.