Once upon a time, a cat and a mouse met in a sunny meadow. The cat, with his sleek fur and clever eyes, greeted the mouse with a friendly purr. “Why don’t we live together, little mouse?” he suggested. “We could share a house and store food for the cold winter.”

The mouse, trusting and eager for companionship, agreed. Together, they found a cozy cottage at the edge of the woods. They swept the floor, patched the roof, and made it their home. “We must prepare for winter,” said the cat. “Let’s buy a pot of fat and keep it safe for when the snow falls.”

So they bought a large pot of fresh fat and hid it beneath the altar in the village church, where no one would find it. “We must not touch it until winter,” the cat warned. The mouse nodded, her whiskers twitching with excitement.

As the days grew colder, the cat’s thoughts turned to the pot of fat. One morning, he licked his lips and said, “Dear mouse, my cousin has just had a baby. I must go to the christening. Will you mind the house while I’m gone?”

“Of course,” said the mouse. “Give my regards to your cousin.”

But the cat had no cousin. He crept to the church, lifted the lid, and licked the creamy top layer of fat. Satisfied, he returned home.

“How was the christening?” asked the mouse.

“Lovely,” purred the cat. “The kitten was named Top-Off.”

“What a strange name,” said the mouse, but she thought no more of it.

Soon after, the cat grew hungry again. “I must attend another christening,” he announced. “A second cousin this time.”

“You have a large family,” said the mouse, but she wished him well.

The cat hurried to the church and ate the middle of the fat. When he returned, the mouse asked, “What was the kitten’s name?”

“Half-Gone,” replied the cat.

“That is even stranger,” said the mouse, shaking her head.

Not long after, the cat’s hunger returned. “Another christening,” he declared. “This time, a third cousin.”

The mouse was puzzled, but she stayed home while the cat slipped away and finished the pot of fat. When he came back, the mouse asked, “And what was this kitten’s name?”

“All-Gone,” said the cat, licking his whiskers.

“All-Gone! That is the strangest name of all. I have never heard anything like it,” said the mouse.

Winter arrived, and the world outside turned white and cold. The cat and mouse shivered in their little house. “Let’s fetch our pot of fat,” said the mouse. “We will need it to survive.”

They hurried to the church and found the pot empty. The mouse stared in disbelief. “It’s gone! Not a drop left!”

The cat looked away. “If only you hadn’t left it alone, perhaps it would still be here.”

The mouse’s eyes filled with tears. “Tell me the truth, cat. What happened to our fat?”

The cat’s tail twitched. “If you must know, I ate it. All of it. Top-Off, Half-Gone, and All-Gone were the names I gave to each time I ate.”

The mouse trembled with anger and sorrow. “You betrayed me!” she cried. “I trusted you!”

The cat’s eyes narrowed. “You talk too much, mouse. You should have known better than to trust a cat.”

Before the mouse could run, the cat pounced and swallowed her whole. Thus, the partnership ended in tragedy, and the little house stood empty, a warning to all who build trust on shaky ground.