Question

Read a fable from Aesop's Fables.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

A Town Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a dash of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly, nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.

After the meal the friends had a long talk, or rather the Town Mouse talked about her life in the city while the Country Mouse listened. They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the hedgerow and slept in quiet and comfort until morning. In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her. So the next day when the Town Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, she gladly said yes.

When they reached the mansion in which the Town Mouse lived, they found on the table in the dining room the leavings of a very fine banquet. There were sweetmeats and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses, indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. But just as the Country Mouse was about to nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat mew loudly and scratch at the door. In great fear the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly and in came the servants to clear the table, followed by the House Dog.

The Country Mouse stopped in the Town Mouse's den only long enough to pick up her carpet bag and umbrella.

"You may have luxuries and dainties that I have not," she said as she hurried away, "but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it."

Which line from the story best illustrates and develops the universal theme?

a
"but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it."

b
...by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.

c
In great fear the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe.

d
In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her.

Answer 1

The line that best represents the universal theme of Aesop's fable is the one where the Country Mouse expresses her preference for a simple, secure life over a luxurious but dangerous one which is Option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

The line from the story The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse that best illustrates and develops the universal theme is: "But I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it." This line encapsulates the fable's message that simplicity and security are more valuable than wealth and luxury accompanied by danger and anxiety.

Answer 2

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse is a fable about a town mouse who visits her cousin in the country. The country mouse serves her simple food which the town mouse eats only to be polite. The town mouse invites the country mouse to visit her in the city, and they find themselves in a mansion with a feast on the table. The country mouse is about to eat a pastry when they hear a cat mew and scratch at the door. The mice hide in fear and only return to the feast when the cat is gone. The country mouse decides to return to her simple life in the country, preferring safety and peace to luxury and danger.