Belling the Cat

Long ago, the mice held a big meeting to discuss how they could outwit their enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that, but none of them had any really good ideas. Then a young mouse stood up and said he had a plan that should work. "You will all agree," he said, "that the reason the cat catches so many of us, is because it creeps up so quietly, we don’t know it’s there until it’s too late. Now, if we could hear it approaching, we could easily run away before we are caught! My idea is that we get a small bell and attach it, by a ribbon, around the neck of the Cat. Then we should always know when the cat was near and could easily run away before it even knew we were there."

All the mice thought this was a good idea and started cheering and clapping, until an old mouse got up and said: "That is all very well, but who is going to put the bell on the Cat?" The mice looked at one another - nobody spoke. No one wanted to do that job. Then the old mouse said:

"Solutions to a problem should be thought through thoroughly."