Once upon a time, there was a mouse who was extremely shy. As soon as he heard the slightest sound, he would flee. He was very afraid of cats. Once, he was gathering some grains of rice and pieces of coconut with great difficulty. He was not destined to enjoy his meal in peace, and the reason was his extreme fear of cats, so he was always thinking from where the cats would come and when they would pounce on him to eat him.
Then a fortune teller came to the village and set up his home outside the village. All the village residents went to him to express their appreciation. The fortune teller would command whatever he wanted from them. So he too went quickly to the fortune teller, sat before him, and said to him: Can you guarantee, my master, that you will fulfill my wish? The fortune teller said: What do you want? The mouse replied: It is a very simple matter.
The fortune teller said: Good, I will fulfill it for you. The mouse was happy with that. The mouse said: I am extremely afraid of cats. Why don’t you turn me into a cat so that I never have to be afraid again? The fortune teller fulfilled his wish. In that moment, the mouse transformed into a fat cat and began to roam immediately in all the houses, moving his tail and drinking milk. He drank much milk and butter, but he was struck with terror in one of the houses because of the presence of a dog. The dog started chasing him. The cat tucked his tail between his legs and set off heading to the fortune teller’s home.
The fortune teller said to him: What are you afraid of now and what do you want from me now? He said: My master, there is a dog chasing me and I am very afraid of him. Please turn me into a dog. The fortune teller turned him into a dog. Once, the dog went roaming in the forest until he heard the roaring of the tiger. His fear increased and he returned again to the fortune teller’s home and said to him: I am extremely afraid of the tiger. It would be good if you turn me into a tiger. In that moment, the dog transformed into a tiger and went to roam with pride in the forest until he swallowed a huge rabbit and talked to himself in happiness, saying: I must enjoy this meal.
At that moment, a shot of gunpowder scratched his ear. He was saved by a miracle and began running. He realized that it was possible he could be attacked by a hunter who owned a rifle. He managed to escape until the cowardly tiger reached the fortune teller’s home. He said: I am now extremely afraid of humans. I was happy being a mouse. The master said to him: My lord mouse, whatever I turn you into, you will remain afraid of something else. First, you must get rid of fear from inside your heart, because this fear leads to failure. You should feel fear but to a lesser extent. The mouse said: You are right. I must live as a mouse in peace, sleep in my small home, and eat good food. After that, the mouse did not feel any fear of anything.