Once upon a time a mouse fell into a barrel of wine. A cat, passing by, heard the mouse making a great noise but unable to get out of the wine. The cat asked "Why are you shouting so much?"
"Because I can't get out"
"What will you give me if I get you out?"
"I'll give you whatever you want"
So the cat said, "If I get you out, this is what I want: you must come to me whenver I call you."
"Right, I promise that I'll do it."
"I want you to swear to it."
And the mouse swore, so the cat took him out of the wine and let him scamper off to his hole.
One day the cat was very hungry, and went to the mousehole, telling the mouse to come to him.
"By God, I'll do nothing of the sort," replied the mouse.
"But didn't you swear that you'd come out when I called you?"
"My dear chap," said the mouse, "I was drunk when I swore that oath."
Taken from Medieval Comic Tales, ed. D. Brewer (Cambridge, Boydell & Brewer Press: 1973) and originally from the Spanish 14th century MS, Libro de los gatos.
"Because I can't get out"
"What will you give me if I get you out?"
"I'll give you whatever you want"
So the cat said, "If I get you out, this is what I want: you must come to me whenver I call you."
"Right, I promise that I'll do it."
"I want you to swear to it."
And the mouse swore, so the cat took him out of the wine and let him scamper off to his hole.
One day the cat was very hungry, and went to the mousehole, telling the mouse to come to him.
"By God, I'll do nothing of the sort," replied the mouse.
"But didn't you swear that you'd come out when I called you?"
"My dear chap," said the mouse, "I was drunk when I swore that oath."
Taken from Medieval Comic Tales, ed. D. Brewer (Cambridge, Boydell & Brewer Press: 1973) and originally from the Spanish 14th century MS, Libro de los gatos.
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