--- title: The Cat and the Old Rat — The Aesop for Children · full text with trees description: The Cat and the Old Rat, «The Aesop for Children» by Aesop: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: There was once a Cat who was so watchful, that a Mouse hardly dared show the tip of his whiskers for fear of being eaten alive. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [The Aesop for Children](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/) / The Cat and the Old Rat # The Cat and the Old Rat The Cat and the Old Rat of «The Aesop for Children» by Aesop: the whole text, 18 sentences and 334 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/1/) — There was once a Cat who was so watchful, that a Mouse hardly dared show the tip of his whiskers for fear of being eaten alive. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/2/) — That Cat seemed to be everywhere at once with his claws all ready for a pounce. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/3/) — At last the Mice kept so closely to their dens, that the Cat saw he would have to use his wits well to catch one. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/4/) — So one day he climbed up on a shelf and hung from it, head downward, as if he were dead, holding himself up by clinging to some ropes with one paw. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/5/) — When the Mice peeped out and saw him in that position, they thought he had been hung up there in punishment for some misdeed. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/6/) — Very timidly at first they stuck out their heads and sniffed about carefully. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/7/) — But as nothing stirred, all trooped joyfully out to celebrate the death of the Cat. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/8/) — Just then the Cat let go his hold, and before the Mice recovered from their surprise, he had made an end of three or four. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/9/) — Now the Mice kept more strictly at home than ever. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/10/) — But the Cat, who was still hungry for Mice, knew more tricks than one. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/11/) — Rolling himself in flour until he was covered completely, he lay down in the flour bin, with one eye open for the Mice. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/12/) — Sure enough, the Mice soon began to come out. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/13/) — To the Cat it was almost as if he already had a plump young Mouse under his claws, when an old Rat, who had had much experience with Cats and traps, and had even lost a part of his tail to pay for it, sat up at a safe distance from a hole in the wall where he lived. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/14/) — "Take care!" he cried. " - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/15/) — That may be a heap of meal, but it looks to me very much like the Cat. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/16/) — Whatever it is, it is wisest to keep at a safe distance." - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/17/) — \_The wise do not let themselves be tricked a second time. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/131/18/) — \_ - ← previous: [The Lark and Her Young Ones](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/130/) - next →: [The Fox and the Crow](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/132/) - ↑ back to [The Aesop for Children](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg19994/)