Cats and mice are natural born enemies, so what happens when they form a partnership in a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm? The mouse gets eaten, of course!

While our modern sentiments want to defy stereotypes and recast the villain as a hero or a misunderstood outcast, that was not so in the Middle Ages when Cat and Mouse in Partnership was first told. Things were a little more black and white back then, at least in the world of their fairy tales where lessons needed to be crystal clear.

If it looks like a cat and purrs like a cat, so to speak, then it’s a cat all right. And if you’re a mouse, then you’d better stay away. But the little mouse in our story doesn’t. Let’s take a look at the plot and figure out why.

PLOT SUMMARY

Exposition – The Background

A cat meets a mouse.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

And the cat says all manner of nice things to the mouse in order to win her friendship.

Rising Action – The Build-up

The unlikely pair then buys a pot of fat together and stores it in the church for safekeeping until winter. Meanwhile, they move in together, but the cat secretly covets the pot of fat and contrives to have it all to himself.

Three times he lies to the mouse and says that he must go to the church to stand as godfather for a newborn kitten.

The first time, he licks off the top layer of fat. When he comes home, the mouse inquires about the baptism and asks the kitten’s name. The cat says the kitten was christened “Top-Off.” Though an unusual name, the mouse does not give it much thought.

The second time, the cat eats down to the middle of the pot. Again, he gives the make-believe kitten a fake name, calling him “Half-Gone.” The name worries the mouse, but she does not press the matter.

Climax – The Breaking Point

The third time, the cat devours the rest of the pot and says the kitten was christened “All-Gone.” The mouse grows even more worried but still does not realize the cat is lying.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

When winter comes and food grows scarce, the mouse goes to the church with the cat and discovers the pot of fat empty.

Anti-resolution – Not So Happily Ever After

Before she can finish accusing the cat, he eats her up, and so ends their partnership!

PLOT ANALYSIS

The mouse should have known better than to trust a cat. So why did she? Was she worried about being prejudicial? Did she just want to give him a chance?

Of course not! Those explanations are too modern to apply, not to mention they are not supported by the text, which says very plainly that the cat tricked the mouse through flattery. The mouse should have trusted her instincts, not her vanity. As a result, she misplaced her trust altogether.

The mouse was happy to keep the company of the cat because he boosted her ego. Yet, the cat was biding his time to eat her all the while. As such, neither was really friend to the other. Theirs was a partnership of convenience and met a certain death when that convenience, the pot of fat, ran out.

Neither the cat nor the mouse emerges a likable character. One is a foolish victim, and the other is a cunning predator.

CONCLUSION

Naturally, many middle school students like the ones I teach can readily relate to both characters. What seems to be a true friendship in sixth grade turns out to be merely a partnership of convenience in seventh. If left unchecked, it meets an unhappy ending by eighth.

That sounds rather daunting! But fear not, the Brothers Grimm have sound advice to offer. Simply put, trust your instincts. It’s good to give people a chance, but don’t be fooled by flattery or popularity or something else superficial. You can usually see through the façade if you can get over your ego.

And finally, just as we need to safeguard ourselves from cats, we also need to make sure we don’t turn into a cat.

First image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Second image in the public domain