 Cat Tales and Folklore By Michael Berman
PROLOGUE: A HAPPY CATThere is a story told about a cat who discovered that happiness was in his tail. He kept trying over and over to get it, but all he could do was run around in circles. Exhausted and frustrated with this endless pursuit, he eventually stopped. Then he discovered that if he just went about his life as usual, it would follow him wherever he went. "You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." - Colonial American Proverb CATS & MICECats and mice are often associated in legends concerned with the beginning of the world. According to one legend, not only did rodents precede cats but their existence was the reason for the cat's creation. At the time of the flood, there were no cats. Noah took pairs of rats and mice into the Ark, with the result that it was soon over-run with vermin. Noah asked the lion, as king of the beasts, to do something about the situation. The lion sneezed, and from his nostrils appeared a pair of cats, who soon reduced the rodent population. It has also been said that God created the cat, but that the mouse was Satan's creation; and the Devil's mouse did its best to destroy life once and for all by nibbling a hole in Noah's Ark. Fortunately it was caught by God's cat, and the hold was closed by a frog who crept into it./p> |