This A1 Beginner retelling of La souris des villes et la souris des champs keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. La souris des champs vit à la campagne. La souris des villes vit en ville.
This version teaches French through English and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable for learners.
La souris des champs vit à la campagne.
vit en ville.
son amie.
avec du pain et du fromage.
la nourriture.
Elle n'aime pas ça.
dit-elle.
en ville.
dit-elle.
dans une grande maison.
sous une table.
à la campagne.
dit-elle.
The country mouse lives in the countryside.
The city mouse lives in the city.
One day, the country mouse invites her friend.
She prepares a simple meal with bread and cheese.
The city mouse tastes the food.
She doesn't like it.
"It's plain and tasteless," she says.
The city mouse invites the country mouse to the city.
"Come to my place," she says.
They eat in a big house.
The food is delicious.
Suddenly, a cat arrives!
The mice run quickly.
They hide under a table.
The country mouse is scared.
She says, "Goodbye, my friend."
The country mouse returns to the countryside.
"I prefer my simple and peaceful life," she says.
Let's look at some important French words from our story. These will help you talk about the mice and their world.
- la souris des champs - the country mouse
- la souris des villes - the town mouse
- la campagne - the countryside
- la ville - the city
In the story, the town mouse has strong opinions about the country food! Let's learn how to say whether you like something.
- C'est simple et sans goût. - It's simple and tasteless.
- C'est délicieux ! - It's delicious!
- J'aime le fromage. - I like cheese.
- Je n'aime pas ça. - I don't like that.
The mice move between different places. Notice how French uses little words to show location.
- à la campagne - in the countryside
- en ville - in town
- sous une table - under a table
- dans une grande maison - in a big house
You've picked up some useful French from the town and country mice! Try retelling the story in your own words, or make up a new adventure for them. The more you practice, the more natural it feels.
Ready for more? After you finish, explore other simple food words or action verbs like courir (to run) and se cacher (to hide).
La souris des villes et la souris des champs comes from the French / La Fontaine tradition and is best known as a fable. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on La Fontaine/Aesop tradition public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A1 Beginner learners studying French. Easy compare/contrast story.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our French section and review the A1 French Vocabulary List. After that, try Basic Questions in French for another useful next step.
