The Mouse's Suitors

Once upon a time, a pair of mouse spouses settled in a barn and began living happily. They had plenty of everything: rice, wheat, millet, and beans. The only thing they lacked was children. They began to pray to the gods, and soon a baby girl mouse was born to them. She grew up and turned into a mouse of dazzling beauty. In all the mouse kingdom of Japan, there was no bride more beautiful. Her parents began to look for a suitor for her, but where could they find one? How could they find a match for such a beauty among the mice?

"Our daughter is the most beautiful in Japan," reasoned the father and mother. "So we must find her the very best suitor."

They thought and thought about who in the world was the greatest and most powerful, and they decided it was the sun. It lives high in the sky and illuminates the entire earthly world.

The father and mother took their daughter with them and set off for the sky. They approached the sun, bowed low, and said:

"O Sun! You are the most powerful. We ask you to take our daughter as your wife."

The sun smiled warmly and replied:

"Thank you for your offer, but there is another suitor in the world who is more powerful than I."

"More powerful than you?" the father exclaimed in surprise. "Who is that?"

"The cloud!" answered the sun. "No matter how hard I try to shine, I cannot break through the cloud."

"Ah, I see!" There was nothing else to do, so the father sent his wife and daughter home and went to the cloud himself. He approached it and said:

"O Cloud! You are the most powerful in the world. We ask you to take our daughter as your wife!"

"Thank you for your offer. But there is another suitor in the world who is more powerful than I."

"More powerful than you?" the father asked in surprise. "Who is that?"

"The wind!" answered the cloud. "When it blows, it drives me wherever it wants."

"Ah, I see!"

The mouse father shook his head and went to the wind. He approached it and said:

"O Wind! You are the most powerful in the world! We ask you to take our daughter as your wife!"

"Thank you for your offer. But there is another suitor in the world who is more powerful than I."

"More powerful than you?" the father asked in surprise. "Who is that?"

"The wall!" answered the wind. "No matter how hard I blow, I cannot knock it down."

"Ah, I see!"

The mouse father scratched behind his ear and quietly went to the wall. He approached it and said:

"O Wall! You are the most powerful in the world! We ask you to take our daughter as your wife!"

"Thank you for your offer. But there is another suitor in the world who is more powerful than I."

"More powerful than you?" the father asked in surprise. "Who is that?"

"Why, any mouse!" answered the wall. "No matter how strong I am, mice can easily gnaw holes through me. I can do nothing against them."

"Ah, I see!" exclaimed the mouse father, even more astonished this time. He clapped his hands with delight and said, "How could I have not noticed before that we are the most powerful beings in the world? Well, thank you, wall." And with a proud look, he headed home. Soon, the parents married their daughter to a neighboring mouse. The young couple lived happily and harmoniously. They respected their parents and had many children, so the mouse family in the barn thrives and prospers to this day.

↑ To the top

The Mouse's Suitors

More fairy tales