B1 · Episode 14 · 2:54
The Mouse, the Cat, and the Coachman
A young mouse recounts to its mother its first encounter with a cat and a coachman—mistaking the latter for a strange foreign animal and the former for a gentle creature. The mother explains the true nature of each and imparts the moral: never judge others by appearances.
Source：Thalie Envolée · License：CC BY 3.0
Transcript
Le cocher, le chat et le souriceau.
The coachman, the cat, and the little mouse.
un souriceau tout jeune et qui n'avait rien vu fut presque prise au dépourvu.
A very young mouse, who had seen nothing before, was almost caught off guard.
voici comme il conta l'aventure à sa mère.
This is how he recounted the adventure to his mother.
j'avais franchi les monts qui bornent cet état,
I had crossed the mountains marking the border of this land,
et trottai comme un jeune rat qui cherche à se donner carrière,
and trotted along like a young rat eager to make his way,
lorsque deux animaux m'ont arrêté les yeux.
when two animals caught my eye.
l'un doux, bénin et gracieux,
One was gentle, benign, and graceful,
et l'autre turbulent et plein d'inquiétudes.
the other turbulent and full of anxiety.
il a la voix perçante et rude sur la tête un morceau de chair une sorte de bras dont
It has a shrill, harsh voice; on its head is a piece of flesh—
il s'élève en l'air comme pour prendre sa volée la queue en panache étalé
a kind of arm that rises into the air as if about to take flight; its tail spreads out like a plume,
or c'était un cocher dont notre souriceau fit à sa mère le tableau comme d'un animal
in fact, it was a coachman—our little mouse described him to his mother as an animal
venu de l'Amérique.
who had come from America.
il se battait dit il les flancs avec ses bras faisant tel bruit et tel fracas que
It struck its flanks with its arms, making such noise and such a racket that
moi qui grâce aux dieux de courage me pique en ai pris la fuite de peur le
I—who, thanks to the gods, possess courage—fled in fear,
maudissant de très bon cœur
cursing it heartily.
Sans lui, j'aurais fait connaissance avec cet animal qui m'a semblé si doux.
Without it, I would have met that creature, which seemed so gentle.
il est velouté comme nous
It is velvety, just like us,
marqueté long que une humble contenance un modeste regard et pourtant l'oeil
spotted, long-bodied, with humble bearing and modest gaze—yet its eyes
luisant. je le crois fort sympathisant avec messieurs les rats
shine brightly. I believe it is quite sympathetic toward gentlemen rats,
car il a des oreilles en figure aux nôtres pareilles.
for its ears resemble ours in shape.
Je l'allais aborder, quand d'un son plein d'éclat l'autre m'a fait prendre la fuite.
I was about to approach it when the other let out a loud, brilliant cry—and I fled.
Mon fils, dit la souris,
‘My son,’ said the mouse,
ce doucet est un chat.
‘that gentle one is a cat.’
qui, sous son minois hypocrite, contre toute ta parenté,
Beneath its hypocritical little face,
d'un malin vouloir est porté.
it harbors malicious intent against your entire family.
l'autre animal tout au contraire bien éloigné de nous mal faire servira quelque jour
The other animal, by contrast, is very distant from us and may one day serve as our meal.
peut être à nos repas.
Perhaps it will even appear on our dining table.
quant au chat, c'est sur nous qu'il fonde sa cuisine.
As for the cat, it bases its ‘kitchen’ on us.
Garde toi, tant que tu vivras,
So long as you live, beware—
de juger des gens sur la mine.
never judge people by their appearance.