Punky the Cat and the Mouse

Punky is a handsome cat. He is white. His ears, his feet and his tail are black.

Today, he is walking around the house.
What game can he play?

Oh look! This is interesting.

There is coal on the floor. Next to the coal, there is a hole.
Is there a mouse in the hole?

There is a trap with some cheese. Will the mouse come to eat the cheese?

Punky sits and waits.

Punky waits and waits. He closes his eyes, but he is not sleeping. He is smart.

Punky waits for a long time.

The mouse comes out of the hole. He sees Punky. He thinks Punky is sleeping.

But Punky smiles and thinks, “I will let the mouse play. He will think he is safe. But soon, I will be hungry!”

But the mouse is smart, too. The mouse sees Punky’s smile.
The mouse thinks, “The cat is not sleeping! I must run away!”

The mouse runs around Punky.
Punky opens his eyes and jumps towards the mouse. He misses!

The mouse runs into another hole. He is safe.

“Ha ha,” says Punky. “I didn’t catch you. But, oh well! I will not be hungry. I can still eat cheese.”

Punky reaches for the cheese.

SNAP!

The trap snaps!

Punky’s little black foot is trapped!

“Ouch!” cries Punky. He jumps and swings and runs. The trap doesn’t come off!

The mouse returns and sees Punky. The mouse laughs and laughs. He can’t stop laughing.

Punky runs up the stairs.

He jumps on the chairs, and jumps on the table.
He steps on the plate and knocks over the glass.

“Meow! Meow!” he cries for a long time.

Punky’s owner hears the crying. She goes to the table and she sees Punky.

“Oh no! You poor kitty!” she says.

She takes the trap off of Punky’s foot.

She takes care of Punky. She gives him some milk, and she give him some fish.
And she gives him a silk ribbon.

“Feel better, my pretty kitty,” she says.
Finally, Punky can eat. He drinks the milk and eats the fish.

Now he knows: Don’t try to fool the mouse.

About this story:

“Punky Dunk and the Mouse” is a story by an anonymous author. It is in the public domain. It is rewritten here for Level 1 English learners by Judy Shinohara.