Once upon a time, a mouse, a bird, and a sausage, entered intopartnership and set up house together. For a long time all went well;they lived in great comfort, and prospered so far as to be able to addconsiderably to their stores. The bird’s duty was to fly daily into thewood and bring in fuel; the mouse fetched the water, and the sausagesaw to the cooking.
When people are too well off they always begin to long for somethingnew. And so it came to pass, that the bird, while out one day, met afellow bird, to whom he boastfully expatiated on the excellence of hishousehold arrangements. But the other bird sneered at him forbeing a poor simpleton, who did all the hard work, while the othertwo stayed at home and had a good time of it. For, when the mousehad made the fire and fetched in the water, she could retire into herlittle room and rest until it was time to set the table. The sausage hadonly to watch the pot to see that the food was properly cooked, andwhen it was near dinner-time, he just threw himself into the broth,or rolled in and out among the vegetables three or four times, andthere they were, buttered, and salted, and ready to be served. Then,when the bird came home and had laid aside his burden, they sat downto table, and when they had finished their meal, they could sleep theirfill till the following morning: and that was really a verydelightful life.
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