Consider the little mouse, how sagacious an animal it is which never entrusts its life to one hole only.

The image of the mouse with multiple holes is a compact proverb about prudence under uncertainty. It praises a kind of practical intelligence—anticipating danger, keeping alternatives open, and avoiding single points of failure. Applied to human affairs, it counsels against staking one’s safety, livelihood, or plans on a single option (one patron, one strategy, one refuge). In Plautus’s comic world, such maxims often surface as streetwise wisdom: survival belongs not to the lofty idealist but to the wary, adaptable person who prepares exits before trouble arrives. The line’s enduring appeal lies in its vivid natural analogy and its universal lesson in risk management.