Question

Read the passage. Wee, sleekit, cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie! What is the best paraphrase of these opening lines from the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns?

Answer 1

Hey there!

In the first lines of the poem "To a Mouse," Burns refers to the mouse he's referring to as small (wee), sly (sleekit), afraid, and cowardly (cow'rin and tim'rous). He then refers to the mouse as having a panic in its chest (panic's in thy breastie). 

A paraphrase of these lines could be something like, "The mouse is described as a small, timid, and sly animal."

Hope this helped you out! :-)