Belling the Cat

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  "title": "Belling the Cat",
  "author": "Aesop",
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  "language": "en",
  "summary": "\"Belling the Cat\" is a short fable by Aesop about a colony of mice living in constant dread of their enemy, the Cat. Too afraid to leave their dens by night or day, they gather to find a solution. A young mouse proposes a brilliantly simple idea — hang a bell around the Cat's neck as a warning signal — and the whole assembly erupts in celebration. But one elderly mouse silences the crowd with a single, devastating question that exposes the gap between a good idea and the courage to act on it.",
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    "The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day.",
    "Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a very young Mouse got up and said:",
    "“I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat’s neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming.”",
    "All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:",
    "“I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one question: Who will bell the Cat?”",
    "Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller, believed to have lived around 620–564 BCE, whose fables have been retold across cultures for over two millennia. \"Belling the Cat\" is one of his most enduring moral tales, widely cited even today in politics and philosophy to illustrate the difference between proposing a solution and taking responsibility for it."
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  "body_text": "The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day.\n\nMany plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a very young Mouse got up and said:\n\n“I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat’s neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming.”\n\nAll the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:\n\n“I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one question: Who will bell the Cat?”\n\nAesop was an ancient Greek storyteller, believed to have lived around 620–564 BCE, whose fables have been retold across cultures for over two millennia. \"Belling the Cat\" is one of his most enduring moral tales, widely cited even today in politics and philosophy to illustrate the difference between proposing a solution and taking responsibility for it.",
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