Illustration of a cheerful mouse from a children's reading comprehension worksheet about Aesop's fables.

Let’s read the story carefully and think about what it means.

The story is called “One of Aesop’s Fables.” It tells us:

- An old cat wanted to catch all the mice in the barn.
- The mice met to talk about how harmful the cat was.
- Each mouse tried to think of a plan to stay safe from the cat.
- Then, an old gray mouse (who was thought to be very wise) said:
> “Hang a bell on the cat’s neck. Then, when we hear it ring, we will know that she is coming and can scamper out of her way.”

Now — here’s the key part: This is a fable. Fables are short stories that teach a lesson. Often, they show someone suggesting a clever idea… but then something goes wrong or the idea isn’t practical.

In this case, the mouse suggests hanging a bell on the cat. That sounds smart — if you can hear the cat coming, you can run away!

But wait — who is going to actually hang the bell on the cat? The cat is dangerous! If a mouse tries to get close enough to put a bell on the cat, the cat might catch and eat the mouse.

So the real question hidden in this fable is:
“That’s a great idea — but who will do it?”

This teaches us that sometimes people come up with good plans, but no one wants to take the risk to carry them out. Or, ideas sound easy until you try to do them.

Since there are no actual questions written on the worksheet (like multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank), and the instruction says “Read the short story. Then answer each question,” but no questions are shown — perhaps the student is meant to reflect on the moral or main idea.

However, since the user didn’t provide specific questions, and based on common versions of this fable (“Belling the Cat”), the most likely expected answer is understanding the moral or lesson of the story.

Let me double-check: In Aesop’s original fable, after the wise mouse suggests belling the cat, another mouse asks, “Who will bell the cat?” And everyone realizes it’s impossible — so the plan fails.

Therefore, the main point is:
> Just because an idea sounds good doesn’t mean it can be done — especially if no one is willing or able to carry it out.

Final Answer:
The lesson of the fable is that it’s easy to suggest a clever plan, but much harder to carry it out — especially if it’s dangerous. No mouse would dare to hang the bell on the cat, so the plan won’t work.