Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/531

 Rh THE CAT AND THE RAT

NE day a Cat and a Rat wished to cross a river but were daunted by its width and the strength of its current. The Rat alone knew how to swim, and both were afraid of the Crocodiles. As for hiring a canoe, they could not think of such a thing, for they would have had to hire a canoe from some Man, and they were afraid of Men. At last they decided to make a canoe for themselves cut out of a large potato. While the Cat held the potato between her paws, the Rat hollowed it out with his teeth which were sharp as hatchets. When the canoe was finished they pushed it into the water and both stepped in. The Rat paddled because he was the younger. But after a while he grew tired and threw down the paddle; for it seemed as though the other side of the river was still a day's journey off.

"I am very hungry," said the Rat.

"Hungry? So am I," said the Cat.

"I am going to gnaw our canoe a little," said the Rat. "It is my natural food. Why should I go hungry while there is food within reach?" And he began to gnaw the potato.

"Have a care," said the Cat, "for if you gnaw too deep and wreck our canoe, you shall die with me."

The Rat promised not to gnaw the potato any more. But presently he quietly began again, and gnawed a little every time the Cat's head was turned; and whenever the Cat looked his way he hid with his body the hole that he had gnawed. At last the bottom of the canoe was gnawed so thin that it gave way, and began to fill with water. Instantly the Rat jumped into the river and swam to shore, escaping the Crocodiles. When he was safe on land he began