The Story of the Devil, Noah and the Ark.

There is another version of this tale which transfers the origin of the mouse to the ark of Noah. Noah would not allow the devil to get into the ark which he had built. In order, therefore, to get in, the devil transformed himself into a mouse, which, being surprised at the same work of gnawing away the boards of the ark, was eaten up by the cat—the fur glove which Noah threw at her.

A legend concerning the cat and mouse is found in the so-called “Alphabet of Pseudo Sirach,” here in the Appendix, No. III. According to a Bohemian legend, the devil created the mouse that it might destroy “God’s corn,” whereupon the Lord created the cat. (Ralston, p. 330 note.)

The apocryphal interpretation of the temptation of Eve by the serpent which has been identified with Satan is found in many ancient biblical legends. This story of the temptation has been transformed into a somewhat primitive love story between Eve and the devil—her paramour—who assumes the form of the house-snake and then wishes to drown poor unsophisticated Adam.