Ideas are easy

One day, the mice held a community meeting. The topic of discussion was what to do about the cat. “The cat is our enemy,” said one mouse. “We must do something to     1     ourselves!” “We cannot live this way, for it is too     2     to go out,” cried the other mice.

At once, a young mouse jumped to his feet. “I have an idea,” said the young mouse. “As we know, our problem is the way the cat gets     3     to us silently when we least expect him. My proposal is simple. The solution is to hang a bell around the cat’s neck. When he     4    , the bell will ring, and we will be warned in time to escape.”

The other mice cheered     5     and thought, “This is a smart mouse. Surely he will be our leader one day.” Just then, a     6     old mouse stood up to address the other mice. “That is a good idea,” said the old mouse. “Now may I ask, who will     7     to hang the bell around the cat’s neck?”

There was general silence among the mice then. No one stood up to volunteer for such a dangerous job. The old mouse said, “It is easy to suggest a solution especially when carrying it out is impossible.”