Once upon a time, in a big barn full of golden rice, there lived a large, busy mouse family. There were grandpa mice and grandma mice, daddy mice and mummy mice, and lots and lots of baby mice. But in the same barn there also lived a stripy cat called Tabby.
Tabby walked on very soft paws. Pad, pad, pad, not a sound. Then, all of a sudden, she would leap out and shout, "MEOW!" The mice would jump with fright, squeak loudly and scurry away, dropping their grains of rice all over the floor. It happened every single day.
One evening, Grandpa Mouse called a big meeting behind the rice sacks. "Friends," he said, "Tabby keeps giving us a fright. I have an idea. Let's hang a little bell around her neck. Then whenever she comes, we'll hear jingle, jingle, jingle, and we won't be startled anymore!" All the mice clapped their tiny paws. "Hooray! What a good idea!"
Then Grandpa Mouse asked, "So, who will put the bell on the cat?" Suddenly the barn went very, very quiet. Grandma Mouse said, "Oh, my legs are too slow." Daddy Mouse said, "Oh, I'm far too busy carrying rice." Mummy Mouse said, "Oh, I have to sing the babies to sleep." Uncle Mouse said, "Oh, I think I have a tickle in my nose." Aaa-choo! Nobody wanted to go.
Then a very small voice spoke up from the back. It was Tiny, the littlest mouse of all. "I'll go," said Tiny. "I'll ask Tabby very politely." Everyone gasped. Grandpa Mouse tied the little bell onto a bright red ribbon and gave it to Tiny. "Be gentle, and be brave," he said.
Tiny tiptoed across the barn, carrying the bell carefully so it wouldn't ring. Up on a pile of hay, Tabby was sitting all by herself. She let out a long, sad sigh. "Nobody ever plays with me," she said quietly. "Whenever I come near, everyone runs away."
Tiny was surprised. Tabby wasn't scary at all. She was lonely! Tiny took a deep breath and called out, "Hello, Tabby! I've brought you a present." Tabby looked down. "A present? For me?" Tiny held up the red ribbon, and the bell went jingle, jingle, jingle. "It's a bell. When you wear it, we'll hear you coming, and we won't get a fright. Then maybe we can all play together."
Tabby's eyes shone. "Oh, it's beautiful! Nobody has ever given me a present before." She bent her head down, and Tiny tied the ribbon in a neat bow. Tabby shook her head. Jingle, jingle! She purred happily. "I'm sorry I kept jumping out at you. I only wanted to play chase. I didn't know how to ask."
Tiny ran back to the family, squeaking with joy. Behind her came the sound, jingle, jingle, jingle. At first the mice peeped out nervously. But then Tabby sat down, curled her tail around her paws and said, "Hello, everyone. Would you like to play?"
So they made some new rules. No more jumping out and shouting "MEOW!" When the bell rang, it meant Tabby was coming to play. They played hide-and-seek among the rice sacks, jingle, jingle, "I found you!" They played rolling games with little balls of straw. And when Tabby played chase, she ran slowly on purpose, so the baby mice could win.
In the evenings, when the games were over, the whole mouse family snuggled up next to Tabby's warm, soft fur. Tabby purred a deep, cosy purr, and the little bell gave one last sleepy jingle. And the littlest mouse, Tiny, smiled, because a small, brave hello had turned a big fright into a big friendship.
Parent tip: Shake a set of keys gently each time the bell jingles in the story so your child can hear Tabby coming.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This is a gentle retelling: the cat only wants to play, nobody is chased to harm, and everyone becomes friends.