The Lean Cat and The Fat Cat

The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat
adapted from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai
retold by Maude Barrows Dutton
There was once a poor, lean Old Woman. She lived in a tiny, tumbled-down
house. She had a Cat as poor and as lean as herself. This Cat had never tasted a bit of
bread. He had come no nearer a mouse than to find its tracks in the dust.
One morning, the Cat was sitting as usual on the roof of the house. He saw another Cat
walking along the opposite roof. At first he scarcely recognized the Cat as one of his own.
His sides were so sleek and fat. He carried his
long tail straight up in the air. He blinked his
yellow eyes in the sunshine.
As the Fat Cat came nearer, the Lean
Cat called out to him, My good neighbor, you
look like the happiest cat alive. You are as
plump as if you had sat every day of your life
at a banquet. Tell me where it is that you find
so much to eat?
Where, indeed, replied the Fat Cat, sitting
down and curling his long tail about his legs,
but at the Kings table. Every day, when the
feast is spread, I go there and snatch away some delicious morsel of food, either a piece
of roast beef or a fried trout.
The Lean Cat drew nearer to the edge of the roof. Oh, tell me, he begged, what
is roast beef? How do fried trout smell? I have never tasted anything but broth.
Ah, that is why you look as lean as a spider, the other Cat answered. Now, if
you were only to look once at the Kings table, it would put new life into your old bones.
Tomorrow, if you wish, I will take you there.
With a purr of satisfaction, the Lean Cat jumped off the roof. He ran to tell the Old
Woman the good news. But the Old Woman was far from happy when she heard of the
expedition.
I beg you, she pleaded with her Cat. Stay at home and be happy with your dish
of honest broth. Think what might happen to you if the royal cook should catch you
stealing from the Kings table!
But the Lean Cat was so greedy for food that the words of the Old Woman went in
one ear and out the other. The next day the two cats started for the palace.
Now, the day before, the King had issued an order. Any cat that showed his whiskers
within the palace would be captured.
The Fat Cat wisely approached the palace silently. As he was creeping through the
gate, another cat warned him of the order. He took to his heels. But the Lean Cat was
already within the banquet hall. At the first odor of roasting meat that came through the
window, he had leaped forward, leaving his friend far behind. He was just snatching a
morsel of meat from the table when a strong hand seized him by the back of the neck. An
instant later, he was captured.
Alack, alack, woe is me! sighed the Old Woman that evening when her cat did
not return for his supper. If only my cat had been happy with his dish of honest broth, he
would still be purring on my hearthstone.
The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat adapted from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other
Fables of Bidpai retold by Maude Barrows Dutton. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright 1908.
1. What caused the Lean Cat to be captured?
A. The Lean Cat was very hungry. His hunger kept him from listening to the Old
Womans warning.
B. The Lean Cat could not run fast. His lack of speed kept him from running away
from the Kings guards.
C. The Lean Cat could not see very well. His lack of sight kept him from noticing
the Kings guards.
D. The Lean Cat was very trusting. His trust kept him from noticing that the Fat
Cat was tricking him.
2. What do the Fat Cat and the Old Woman have in common?
A. They both have plenty to eat.
B. They both enjoy tricking the Lean Cat.
C. They both enjoy taking chances.
D. They both are cautious.
3. What action helped keep the Fat Cat from being caught?
A. He ate enough and left before the Kings guards arrived.
B. He kept silent and still at the banquet table and was not seen.
C. He waited before entering the banquet hall to see if the Lean Cat got caught.
D. He listened to the warning of another cat outside the palace.
4. Which statement from the text describes the illustration?

A.
Where, indeed, replied the Fat Cat, sitting down and curling his long tail about
his legs, but at the Kings table. Every day, when the feast is spread, I go there
and snatch away some delicious morsel of food, either a piece of roast beef or a
fried trout.
B. With a purr of satisfaction, the Lean Cat jumped off the roof. He ran to tell the
Old Woman the good news. But the Old Woman was far from happy when she heard
of the expedition.
C. Stay at home and be happy with your dish of honest broth. Think what might
happen to you if the royal cook should catch you stealing from the Kings table!
D. At the first odor of roasting meat that came through the window, he had leaped
forward, leaving his friend far behind.

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4. Which statement from the text describes the illustration?

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