The Five Mouse Brothers (A Beautifully Illustrated Children Picture Book Adapted From a Classic Chinese Folktale; Perfect Bedtime Story) (2 page)

Brother Wong could swim like a fish and even breathe underwater. Often times he would even be mistaken
for
a little gray fish.

Brother Look was one of the chattiest mice, and he could speak in all kinds of languages. He knew the chirps of the bird, the hisses of the snake, even the howls of the dog.

Lastly was Brother Lalm. He was quiet, unlike Brother Look, and he had a stomach of steel. He could eat the richest of foods and the rottenest. Never had Brother Lalm fallen ill.

So, as Brother Hong sat in his prison, he could listen to the council meeting and what would be his fate. He hatched a plan. In the middle of the night, his brothers came to visit him. They brought Brother Hong dried fruit to eat, and asked him what they could do to help.

"Mayor Chun and the villagers will send me to the mousetrap," said Brother Hong. "But it will not be me they shall send. Quick, Brother Cheng, lend me your vest." The two mice switched. This was easy to do since the prison was poorly built, and the brothers were quite crafty.

Now Brother Hong was wearing orange, and Brother Cheng was wearing red. When the villagers came to the prison, they thought they "found" Brother Hong still there. In truth it was Brother Cheng.

Taking him, Mayor Chun brought Brother Cheng away from the wheat field to a large, wooden building, which was so big that the mice could walk underneath it quite easily. There they found the mousetrap, with such a tempting piece of cheese on it that a few of the villagers had to be held back.

"Brother Hong," Mayor Chun said to Brother Cheng. "For stealing food from the villagers, you must face the mousetrap."

Brother Cheng stepped up to it, and took the cheese off the trigger. What a surprise it was to the villagers when the trap sprung down on him...and he caught it!

Holding the metal trap up over his head with one hand, Brother Cheng munched on the cheese in his other.

"Yum! This is good cheese, Mayor Chun, I must thank you," said Brother Cheng.

Mayor Chun just stood there, jaw dropped to the ground.

Mayor Chun held another council meeting later that day.

"Because the mousetrap failed, we must spin the wheel again," said Mayor Chun. "Bring out...the Wheel of Doom!"

He stood up and spun the wheel. The crowd leaned in to watch.

"It is decided," he said. "Tomorrow, Brother Hong shall face death by drowning!”

Of course, Brother Hong heard and saw all of this. So that night, he and the rest of his brothers went to visit Brother Cheng.

"Quietly, now," Brother Hong said. "Brother Cheng, switch vests with Brother Wong.”

Morning came, and the mayor once more took who he thought was Brother Hong out of the prison. The villagers brought him to the pond.

"Brother Hong, because you have stolen food from your neighbors, you must jump into this pond. When it is over, we will hand your body back to your brothers," said Mayor Chun.

So Brother Wong jumped into the water. He disappeared beneath the surface.

Time passed, and after ten minutes the villagers thought that Brother Hong must surely be dead. They had long poles with nets at the end. Using them, they fished out the mouse from the pond. But when they lifted their nets out of the water, they found that he was very much alive.

"Hello!" Brother Wong said cheerfully. "Is it over already? The water's quite nice."

Surprised, the villagers dropped him back into the water. This time they waited an hour before they pulled him out.

Again, Brother Wong greeted them. "Nice day for a swim isn't it?" he said.