There was a mouse who lived a very carefree life and often traveled to beautiful scenic spots. One day, he went to visit a golden beach.
At night, the mouse carried a bottle of fine wine in his pocket and, leaving the rat hotel, strolled slowly to the beach. The place was breathtakingly beautiful: high in the night sky hung a large, perfectly round moon; its light shimmered upon the sea surface, rippling like scattered gold.
"Absolutely magnificent! Truly a fairyland on earth!" the mouse exclaimed repeatedly, then recited two famous lines of poetry: "The bright moon rises over the sea; stars hang low above the vast plain."
After praising the view, the mouse thought to himself, "If only I could have a fresh, delicious sea fish as a snack to go with my drink, that would be the ultimate pleasure!" Well, strangely enough, just as he was thinking this, he caught a whiff of a fishy smell that made his mouth water uncontrollably.
Following the scent quietly, the mouse crept forward. In the moonlight, he saw a fish floating on the water's surface, its tail dragging on the sand, completely motionless—seeming as if it were already dead.
The strong fishy odor powerfully tempted the mouse. He approached silently and slowly, first cautiously poking the fish's tail several times with his front paw. Seeing no reaction, he assumed it must truly be a dead fish.
The mouse opened his mouth and bit down on the fish's tail, intending to drag it onto the sandy beach to enjoy it at leisure. But at that very moment, the fish's tail suddenly flicked, pulling the mouse into the water. Then the fish turned around, clamped its jaws on the mouse's foot, and dove beneath the surface. "Glug, glug, glug, glug"—in just a short while, the mouse had swallowed a belly full of water, stopped breathing, and became the fish's delicious meal.
After finishing the mouse meat, the fish swayed its whiskers and licked its lips, saying, "What a tasty mouse indeed! How could he possibly know that we catfish are expert mouse catchers? We use this trick of playing dead to lure fools like him into our trap!"
Satisfied, the catfish swam away, leaving only the bottle of fine wine floating on the sea surface, its glass reflecting the beautiful moonlight.
Even in the midst of a wonderful life, danger can lurk unseen. We must never become so joyful that we forget the risks; otherwise, happiness can quickly turn into sorrow.