In a small village in Germany, there was a hard - working farmer. His barn was full of grains, but recently he had a big problem. A group of small pests that ate grains appeared in the barn at some time. The farmer had tried many methods, such as setting up insect traps and spraying insect repellents, but none of them worked. There were more and more pests. The farmer was so worried as he watched the grains he had worked so hard to grow being gradually ruined that his hair turned a lot grayer.
In the corner of the barn, there lived a clever little mouse. This little mouse was no ordinary mouse. Although it also lived in the barn, it never stole grains randomly, and it often kept its nest very clean. Seeing the farmer so troubled, the little mouse decided to help him.
The little mouse began to carefully observe these pests. It found that these pests always came out to be active at night, and they especially liked to gather in the wettest and darkest corners of the barn. The little mouse thought that it would be great if it could lead these pests to one place and then destroy them all together. So, the little mouse began to look for something useful in the barn.
It found a dilapidated wooden barrel with a small hole in it. The little mouse thought that this was just perfect. It also found some remaining grains in the barn, put the grains beside the barrel, and also scattered some inside the barrel. Then, the little mouse hid behind the barrel and waited quietly.
At night, the pests smelled the aroma of the grains and crawled towards the barrel one after another. They happily ate the grains outside the barrel. After eating the outside ones, they climbed into the barrel through the hole to continue eating.
Seeing that all the pests had climbed into the barrel, the little mouse quickly found a wooden board and sealed the hole in the barrel. The pests found that they could not get out and began to bump around inside. The little mouse had successfully trapped the pests.
The next morning, the farmer came to the barn and was surprised to find that all the pests were gone. At this time, the little mouse ran out from the corner, squeaking as if it was telling the farmer what it had done. The farmer was very happy and he understood that it was this little mouse that had helped him.
To thank the little mouse, the farmer specially built a more comfortable little nest for the little mouse in a corner of the barn and often left some special food for the little mouse. Since then, the little mouse and the farmer had become good friends. The little mouse continued to live happily in the barn, and the farmer's barn was no longer bothered by pests.
