"A Little Fable" is a short story written by Franz Kafka between 1917 and 1923. The story, only one paragraph in length, was not published in Kafka's lifetime and first appeared in Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (1931).
Plot introduction
A mouse laments its fate, stating that the world, which was once so large and frightening, has grown smaller and forced it into a narrow chamber where he must run into a trap. A cat retorts that to change its fate the mouse need only turn around, and eats it up.
The story
"Alas," said the mouse, "the whole world is growing smaller every day. At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into." "You only need to change your direction," said the cat, and ate it up.
Popular culture
A comics adaptation of the story, illustrated by Peter Kuper, is included in Give It Up!.
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