Who's Gonna Bell That Cat? | Aesop's Fables

Who's Gonna Bell That Cat? | Aesop's Fables

Lyrical Literacy presents a bluesy, poetic retelling of the classic Aesop's fable about mice plotting against their feline predator. Through rhythmic verses and vivid characterization, the performance follows a midnight meeting of mice conspiring to hang a bell around their enemy's neck. The ambitious plan receives enthusiastic support until the sobering question arises: "Who's gonna tie it round her end?" As each mouse makes excuses—White Whisker has "a limp and a twisted twig," Gray Ear "near got snapped"—the impossible plan unravels. The performance concludes with the timeless moral that talk is cheap when no one is willing to take action in the face of real danger, delivering ancient wisdom through contemporary folk-blues storytelling.

Origin

"Belling the Cat" (also known as "Who Will Bell the Cat?") is one of Aesop's most famous fables, dating back to ancient Greece around the 6th century BCE. In the original tale, a group of mice hold a council to determine how to deal with a cat that hunts them. They devise a seemingly perfect plan to tie a bell around the cat's neck to warn of its approach, but their scheme falls apart when none of the mice volunteers to perform the dangerous task. The fable teaches the practical lesson that ideas—especially those involving risk—are worthless without the courage to implement them, and has been used throughout history to illustrate the gap between theoretical solutions and practical action.

Who’s Gonna Bell That Cat?

Late one night behind the wall
Little mice held a midnight call
Said that cat’s got claws and a silent tread
One more scare and I might drop dead

Brown back grumbled ain’t no peace
I dive for crumbs and lose my fleece
She’s a ghost with fangs and golden eyes
We gotta act before one more dies

Gray ear said let’s bite and run
A hundred squeaks and she’ll be done
But white whisker said I’ve got a plan
We’ll hang a bell on that devil if we can

Ding a ling they all cried loud
Freedom’s ringin sang the crowd
We’ll hear her jingle we’ll dance with glee
She’ll never again sneak up on me

But brown back hushed the rebel cheer
With a voice like truth and a touch of fear
That bell won’t ring itself my friend
Who’s gonna tie it round her end

White whisker coughed well not my gig
I got a limp and a twisted twig
Gray ear said that ain’t my track
Since I near got snapped I don’t go back

So one by one they slunk to bed
No bell was hung no word was said
You can preach and plan and talk real flat
But baby someone’s gotta bell that cat

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