A long time ago, in a faraway kingdom where things tended to be happy and peaceable, there lived a famous knight whose name was Sir Rupert Stoutfellow. He was the boldest and most courageous knight in all the kingdom. Everyone knew of his boldness and his courage.
Whenever a dragon appeared in the kingdom, breathing fire and generally causing a disturbance, the king would summon Sir Rupert Stoutfellow and request that he do something about it. Sir Rupert always told the king, "It shall be done," and then went straight out to face the dragon.
"I am Sir Rupert Stoutfellow," Sir Rupert would say to the dragon. "I am a bold and courageous knight, and I hereby command you to cease your fiery exhibitionism and leave this kingdom at once."
The dragon in question, after hearing this brief admonition, usually offered no resistance and would crawl away, never to be seen again, without another word being said. Even the most fearsome dragons grew timorous when they saw Sir Rupert Stoutfellow. Such was the power of his reputation.
It was in this valiant way that Sir Rupert always went about his business. One day, however, his bold and courageous reputation was put to a serious test.
The King had summoned Sir Rupert Stoutfellow, but this time the problem was not a dragon. Instead, the king told Sir Rupert that a mouse had taken up residence in the royal pantry, and requested that Sir Rupert do something about it.
"It shall be done," Sir Rupert nervously said, as his boldness and his courage instantly began to fade.
Sir Rupert Stoutfellow was a bold and courageous knight, but only in regard to dragons and other dangerous monsters. He was painfully afraid of mice, so as he walked toward the royal pantry, he was trembling in a most unseemly manner.
When Sir Rupert arrived at the royal pantry, he stopped for a moment. Then he cautiously opened the door and crept inside. There he saw a small mouse, sitting on the floor and eating a piece of cheese.
The mouse looked up, saw Sir Rupert, and squeaked. Sir Rupert was struck with extreme terror. He quickly climbed to safety on a nearby chair. While standing on the chair, he shook so violently from fear that the rattle of his armor could be heard throughout the royal castle.
"I am Sir Rupert Stoutfellow," Sir Rupert finally said, when he had gathered enough strength to speak. "I command you to leave this pantry at once."
"Hello," the mouse said, after swallowing a mouthful of cheese. "I am pleased to meet you. My name is Cedric."
The straightforward friendliness of the mouse made Sir Rupert feel less frightened. Sir Rupert then informed Cedric that all of the cheese in the royal pantry belonged to the king.
"Oh, I am very sorry about that," Cedric said, after he swallowed another mouthful of cheese. "If I had known that this was the king's cheese, I would never have eaten it."
Sir Rupert was feeling much better now, so he decided to step down from the chair. He composed himself and told Cedric not to worry about eating the cheese.
"I am certain that the king will agree to pardon your little misdeed," Sir Rupert said.
This was the beginning of a long friendship between Sir Rupert Stoutfellow, the bold and courageous knight, and Cedric, the mouse. The king, after a bit of persuasion from Sir Rupert, consented to pardon Cedric, and also bestowed a knighthood on him. Sir Cedric soon became known as the boldest and most courageous mouse in all the kingdom.
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