Cat and Mouse in Partnership

Cat and Mouse in Partnership
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
	1894 illustration by Henry Justice Ford
Folk tale
Name	Cat and Mouse in Partnership
Data
Aarne–Thompson grouping	ATU 15 (Stealing the Partner's Butter)
Country	Germany
Published in	Grimm's Fairy Tales

"Cat and Mouse in Partnership" (German: Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimms' Fairy Tales (KHM 2). It is a story of Aarne-Thompson type 15 ("Stealing the Partner's Butter").^[1]

Origin[]

Illustration of the fairy tale by Walter Crane

A shorter version of the tale was included in the Brothers Grimm's manuscript collection of 1808, and published in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812. Their version is based upon an oral tradition communicated by Gretchen Wild (1787–1819) in Kassel.^[2]

Plot[]

A cat and a mouse, contrary to the custom of their kinds, become friends, such good friends that they decide to share a home. That they might have something to fall back on in time of need, they buy a pot of fat and hide it away in a nook of a church for safekeeping. After a short time, the cat tells her housemate that one of her relations has given birth and that the mouse's friend has been asked to be godmother. Instead of going to a christening, though, the cat goes to the nook of the church and eats the top layer of the fat in the pot. When the cat returns home, the mouse asks the name of the kitten. The cat replies, "Top-off." The mouse remarks that she has never heard such a name.

Soon thereafter, the cat announces that she again has been invited to a christening. On the cat's return, the mouse asks what name was given to this kitten. "Half-gone," answers the cat. Again the mouse wonders aloud at the oddness of the name.

The cat goes a third time to the church, this time finishing off the fat. When the cat returns, the mouse asks the name given at this christening. "All-gone," answers the cat. Again the mouse shakes her head.

Winter arrives, and with it the lean times the friends had anticipated. The mouse proposes a trip to the church to retrieve the provisions stored there. When she beholds the empty pot, enlightenment dawns on the mouse: "First 'Top-off,' " she murmurs, "then 'Half-gone,' and then ..." The cat warns her to say no more, but the mouse persists. The cat pounces on the mouse and eats her up. "And that is the way of the world," the story closes.^[2]

References[]

^ Ashliman, D. L. (2020). "Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)". University of Pittsburgh.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ashliman, D. L. (2002). "Cat and Mouse in Partnership". University of Pittsburgh.

External links[]

The full text of Cat and Mouse in Partnership at Wikisource
Media related to Cat and Mouse in Partnership at Wikimedia Commons
Nice old English version
Other tales of this type

This article about a short story (or stories) is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] Ashliman, D. L. (2020). "Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)". University of Pittsburgh.

[:0-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ashliman, D. L. (2002). "Cat and Mouse in Partnership". University of Pittsburgh.

[1]

[2]

hide v t The Brothers Grimm
Jacob Grimm · Wilhelm Grimm
Works	Grimms' Fairy Tales Deutsche Sagen Deutsche Mythologie
Notable tales	"Bearskin" "The Brave Little Tailor" "Brother and Sister" "Cat and Mouse in Partnership" "Cinderella" "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs" "Doctor Know-all" "The Dog and the Sparrow" "The Elves and the Shoemaker" "The Fisherman and His Wife" "The Four Skillful Brothers" "The Frog Prince" "Godfather Death" "The Golden Bird" "The Golden Goose" "The Goose Girl" "The Goose-Girl at the Well" "The Grave Mound" "Hans My Hedgehog" "Hansel and Gretel" "The Hut in the Forest" "The Jew Among Thorns" "Jorinde and Joringel" "The Juniper Tree" "The King of the Golden Mountain" "King Thrushbeard" "Little Red Riding Hood" "Mary's Child" "Mother Holle" "Old Hildebrand" "Old Sultan" "The Queen Bee" "Rapunzel" "The Riddle" "The Robber Bridegroom" "Rumpelstiltskin" "The Seven Ravens" "The Singing, Springing Lark" "The Six Servants" "The Six Swans" "Sleeping Beauty" "Snow White" "Snow-White and Rose-Red" "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was" "The Three Little Men in the Wood" "The Three Spinners" "Thumbling" "Town Musicians of Bremen" "Trusty John" "The Turnip" "The Twelve Brothers" "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" "The Water of Life" "The White Snake" "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" "The Wonderful Musician"
Other	Grimm's law Göttingen Seven Grim Tales The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Once Upon a Brothers Grimm Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics The Brothers Grimm Grimm Tales The Sisters Grimm Fairy tale American McGee's Grimm German Fairy Tale Route Grimm Once Upon a Time
Category Commons

Cat and Mouse in Partnership

Contents

Origin[]

Plot[]

References[]

Further reading[]

External links[]