The Rat Trap

One day, in a poor country town thousands of miles away from the nearest city, a rat looked through a crack in the wall to see a farmer and his wife opening a package.

What food might it contain? But no ... it was a rat trap! Retreating to the farmyard, the shocked creature announced the imminent risk.

"There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me. Mr Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern for you. But it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by the trap. Not my problem."

The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"

"I am so very sorry Mr Rat," sympathised the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it except pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."

The rat turned to the cow, who said: "A rat trap? I am in grave danger? Duh! I'm the biggest animal here. Do I look like I'd be trapped in one?"

So the rat returned to the house, head down and feeling rejected. It braced itself to face the farmer's rat trap alone.

That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house. The farmer's wife rushed out to see what had happened. In the darkness, she did not notice that it was a venomous snake, who had been caught by its tail.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer couldn't rush her to the hospital as the town had no transport service and the nearest hospital was a few days' travel away. As a result, she developed a fever.

Now everyone knows that you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife continued to be sick. Therefore, friends and neighbours came to sit with her round the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. Still, her condition did not improve.

Eventually, the wife died and the villagers came to the funeral. Now the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide for all those who turned up.

So, be warned: When there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk. Even if you're not part of the problem, you can be part of its solution.

Sent to Starmag by Wong Miaw Lee