I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave
An' never miss't!
Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast
An' weary Winter comin fast
An' cozie here, beneath the blast
Thou thought to dwell
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell
That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble
Rough English translation: 
 You saw the fields laid bare and wasted, And weary winter coming fast, And cozy here, beneath the blast, You thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel plough passed Out through your cell. 
 The mouse thought herself safe for the coming cold months. But Burns' plow has completely dashed her hopes of survival. 
 
 The “coulter” (plow) used by the farmer is accurately described as “cruel”. The curved edge of the plow blade would not only break apart the earth in preparation for agriculture but would  make short work of any small animals unfortunate enough to cross paths with it. In a deeper analytical reading, the plow serves as a metaphor for the industrial revolution while the mouse is symbolic of those poor farmers displaced by urban expansion and industry. 
 There is a mood shift after the third line in this stanza. The word “cozie” represents peacefulness. In line 5 of the stanza, words such as “crash” and “cruel coulter” shift the mood towards restlessness, which is what the mouse is experiencing without a home. The comparison of the mouse to a monk is seen in the last line in which the speaker calls the house a “cell” referring to the simple homes that holy people live in.
To a Mouse