The bird, the mouse, and the Sausage (1)

The bird, the mouse, and the Sausage (1)

Once upon a time a bird, amouse, and a sausage decided to set up house together and make use their own paticular skills.

They had a perfect arrangement.



It was the bird's job to fly out into the forest and bring back twigs for the fire.

The mouse carried in the water, lit the fire, and set the table for dinner.

And the sausage did all the cooking.

This division of labor worked very well, and , all things considered, they lived very comfortably.

But it often happens that those who have everything they could possibly need begin to grow lazy or jealous, and decide they want to cahnge things or have something new.

Well, the bird started thinking that the other two had a better deal than he did.

(1/5)
こちらは、ちょっと変わっていますが。

The Bird, the Mouse,and the Sausage (2)

The Bird, the Mouse,and the Sausage (2)

One day he told a friend he met a forest all about his complaints.

" Here I am, struggling back and forth with these twigs every day, while those two have it really easy !
 That mouse soon gets the work finished and then has time for a long nap.
And that fat sausage simply has to sit by the pot, stir the food occasionally, jump in for a few second to give it  a flavor, and then add some salt and butter.
That's all. "

" If you want my opinion, " said the other bird, " you're a fool ! I think it's time you all changed jobs. "

The bird took his friend's advice, and the next morning refused to go out into the forest.

" I think you two have been making a fool of me all this time,so now you must do some real work ! "

(2/5) 

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (3)

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (3)

THe mouse and th sausage were very surprised by the bird's outburst, but since the bird refused to give in, they decided they would have to do something or none of them would get a  hot dinner.

They drew lots and it was decided that the bird would take over the mouse's work, the mouse the sausage's, and the sausage the bird's.

And what happened as a result ?

Well, the sausage rushed off to the forest to get some firewood.

The bird quickly brought in the water, prepared the fire, and then took a lovely long nap.

Meanwhile the mouse began to cooking.

But the sausage didn't come back for a long time, and the mouse began to get worried.
He woke the bird up and told him.

"He hasn't come back yet ? I'd betterfly out and have a look. "
The bird soon came across a big dog standing by a little pile of twigs and licking its lips.

(3/5)

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (4)

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (3)

" EXcuse m, Dog, " said the bird.
" Have you seen a rather fat sausage anywhere ? "

" Seen one ? " replied the dog.
" Indeed I have. And it was obviously up t no good wandering around here.
This is no place for a ausage ! So I ate it, and very nice it was, too ! "

" You ATE it ?  Oh, no ! Oh, poor sausage ! This is all my fault. "

The bird picked up the twigs and returned to the cottage very sad.

He and the mouse decided that there was nothing to do but carry on as best they could.

So the bird went to lay the table while the mouse stirred the soup for dinner.

But sausage is a sausage, and a mouse is a mouse, and mice were never meant to be cooks.

(4/5)

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (5 完)

The Bird, the Mouse, and the Sausage (5 完)

When the time came to flavor the soup, the mouse bravely jumped into the pot just as the sausage always did.

But there was no way hw could get out again, and he soon drowned.


When the bird came into the kitchen to see if dinner was ready, there was no sign of the mouse.

The bird began to get worried.

Where could he be ?

He began to serch the kitchen, carelessly scattering the twigs as he fluttered round.

Unfortunately, the twigs suddenly caught fire, and the bird rushed to the well to get some water.

But he filled the bucket with far too much water.

It was so heavy it fell back down the well, with the bird still holding on to it.

So that was the end of the bird, the mouse, and the sausage, who could so easily have lived happily ever after. 

(5/5 完)