--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the little mouse, which was loved as…" description: "\"“When the little mouse, which was loved as none other was in the mouse-world, got into a trap one night and with a shrill scream forfeited its life for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/franz-kafka-214_death_when-the-little-mouse-which-was-loved-as_982153.jpg" --- # When the little mouse, which was loved as none other was… ![“When the little mouse, which was loved as none other was in the mouse-world, got into a trap one night and with a shrill scream forfeited its life for the sight of the bacon, all the mice in the district, in their holes were overcome by trembling and shaking; with eyes blinking uncontrollably they…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/franz-kafka-214_death_when-the-little-mouse-which-was-loved-as_982153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/franz-kafka-214_death_when-the-little-mouse-which-was-loved-as_982153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/franz-kafka-214_death_when-the-little-mouse-which-was-loved-as_982153.jpg) > ““When the little mouse, which was loved as none other was in the mouse-world, got into a trap one night and with a shrill scream forfeited its life for the sight of the bacon, all the mice in the district, in their holes were overcome by trembling and shaking; with eyes blinking uncontrollably they gazed at each other one by one, while their tails scraped the ground busily and senselessly. Then they came out, hesitantly, pushing one another, all drawn towards the scene of death. There it lay, the dear little mouse, its neck caught in the deadly iron, the little pink legs drawn up, and now stiff the feeble body that would so well have deserved a scrap of bacon. The parents stood beside it and eyed their child's remains.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mouse’s sacrifice for bacon triggers collective terror among its peers, illustrating how a single tragedy can spread panic and grief through a community. **In simple terms:** One event can cause widespread fear and sorrow among many. Key Takeaway Recognize how shared trauma spreads and respond with compassion. Themes fear community trauma collective grief Mood somber reflective Type narrative allegorical When to use this quote - emergency response - counseling - community support groups Key Concepts psychology social contagion symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What triggers collective fear in your community? - How can you help others cope with shared loss? A Different Perspective The story’s animal allegory may not map directly to human experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse/) ## Related quotes > [Mountains will go into labour, and a silly little mouse will be born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/mountains-will-go-into-labour-and-a-silly-little-mouse-will-be-born/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Consider the little mouse, how sagacious an animal it is which never entrusts its life to one hole only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/consider-the-little-mouse-how-sagacious-an-animal-it-is-which-never/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [This dapper little mouse that wore such cute clothes and said such interesting things, yeah. I thought it was a great idea to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/this-dapper-little-mouse-that-wore-such-cute-clothes-and-said-such/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [I used to have this little mouse. I buy birds from the pet store and I let them go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/i-used-to-have-this-little-mouse-i-buy-birds-from-the-pet-store-and-i/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [A wretched disheartening result. And a little mouse shall lead them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dalton/a-wretched-disheartening-result-and-a-little-mouse-shall-lead-them/) [Hugh Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dalton/) > [The mountains are in labour, the birth will be an absurd little mouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-mountains-are-in-labour-the-birth-will-be-an-absurd-little-mouse/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Little mouse, you were so quick, so bright, so sweet, so full of life. And you still are everything you were then. None of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/little-mouse-you-were-so-quick-so-bright-so-sweet-so-full-of-life-and/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I see you that have a little swimming mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-see-you-that-have-a-little-swimming-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Don't pole-vault over mouse turds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/don-t-pole-vault-over-mouse-turds/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [I suppose it was a romantic was to perish... for a mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-suppose-it-was-a-romantic-was-to-perish-for-a-mouse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The mouse is a fair treat but this one would talk the hind legs off a donkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-mouse-is-a-fair-treat-but-this-one-would-talk-the-hind-legs-off-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would like to metamorphose into a mouse-mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/i-would-like-to-metamorphose-into-a-mouse-mountain/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [You couldn't catch a mouse if leaped in between your paws!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/you-couldn-t-catch-a-mouse-if-leaped-in-between-your-paws/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [The early bird may get the worm, but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-paxman/the-early-bird-may-get-the-worm-but-its-the-second-mouse-that-gets/) [Jeremy Paxman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-paxman/) > [There's a mouse in here with me. He's sitting there in the light of the lamp, looking up at me. He seems as surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/there-s-a-mouse-in-here-with-me-he-s-sitting-there-in-the-light-of/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the little mouse, which was loved as none other was in the mouse-world, got into a trap one night and with a shrill scream forfeited its life for the sight of the bacon, all the mice in the district, in their holes were overcome by trembling and shaking; with eyes blinking uncontrollably they gazed at each other one by one, while their tails scraped the ground busily and senselessly. Then they came out, hesitantly, pushing one another, all drawn towards the scene of death. 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