HOW THE DOG AND CAT CAME TO BE ENEMIES
Of the thousand and one stories the old women of China love to tell their children and grandchildren, none is so great a favourite as the one, “How the dog and cat came to be enemies for all time.” The little black eyes grow bright as diamonds as they listen, and no bedtime story of Mother Goose of Western lands is more treasured. Let me tell you the story, and as you listen possibly you can see the dear little children of the great flowery kingdom, many of them looking like little flowers gathered about some old grandma who loves and pets them as do the grandmas of all lands.
In the long, long ago there lived in the country a poor widow who had only one son; but he was very kind and good to her, working early and late to support her. She was his one thought, but with all his efforts it was but a poor living that he could give her, and it was a great sorrow to him. One day the gods said, “Such a son must be helped;” so after talking the matter over, one of them, dressed as a temple priest, went to their gate and knocked. The [[99]]widow came and opened the gate, but seeing the guest, she said, “Too bad, too bad. I am so poor I cannot give you any help to-day.” To this the priest replied, “I have not come to get your help but to help you.” When the woman heard this, she said, “I never heard of such a thing.” The priest said, “It is a fact, and I now give you this gold ornament. When you wish to cook a meal you put this in the kettle, put on the cover, light your fire, and then repeat to the kettle several times what you want to eat. When the water boils the food is ready; take off the cover and eat, and you and your son be happy.” With his joyful but incredible news he was gone. The old lady looked at the gold ornament in her hand, thought of what had been said to her, and wondered if she was asleep and it was all a dream. To make sure, she said, “I will try this charm and see if it will work or if the priest has lied to me; I want some meat dumplings for supper.” She put on her kettle, lighted her fire, and then repeated over and over again till the water boiled, “I want dumplings, meat dumplings. Come, dumplings, come.” When the water boiled she took off the cover, and behold the kettle was full of the most delicious-looking dumplings. “Ah,” she said, “what good fortune is mine, what good fortune is mine!” Never had she [[100]]tasted such food in all her poor life. After eating all she could, she fed the cat and dog, and they, too, were wild with delight. How their sides filled out, and they jumped upon her to express their thanks. “Now,” said she, “I will get my son a good supper,” and again she repeated the process. When he came home looking so tired, she said, “I have a good supper for you to-night, my son; all you want and more.” “A good supper,” thought he; “how can that be, since all we ever have is millet and cornmeal?” But to his mother he said, “Nothing you make is bad; it all tastes good.” When she took the cover off and told him to look, he could hardly believe his eyes. He had seen such food but never tasted it. The mother said, “Son, eat, and I will tell you all about our good luck.” When she had concluded her story she showed him the golden ornament. “It is from the gods, my mother, and they have taken pity on you. I am indeed a happy son.”
After this, day by day, the mother and son and the household cat and dog had plenty to eat and all was happiness in the little family.
One day some relatives came to call, and the old lady urged them to stay and eat with them. They refused at first, as they thought they could not provide anything worth eating, but finally, at the old lady’s most earnest request, [[101]]they consented. Such a feast of good things as she prepared for them; how surprised they were! They exclaimed again and again at the delicate flavour of everything, and the quick time in which she had prepared them. At last one of them asked how she could afford to provide such expensive food, and the old lady in pride of heart brought forth her treasure and told her secret to the guests. They were filled with envy, and later on, one day when the old lady was away from home, one of them went into her room and stole the precious charm. Only the dog was in the room, and though he saw, he did not know how great the loss was. When the mistress came home and went to get her son’s supper, she discovered her loss. She was filled with great sorrow and distress. When her son returned she told him, and together they looked everywhere. The old lady wept most bitterly and refused to be comforted. The cat and dog came and begged for their supper, but she paid no attention to them. After that they had to eat millet and cornmeal again, and hard indeed it was, as they had become used to good food. The cat and dog grew thin and refused the poor food. Finally the dog concluded that the reason was because the bright, pretty ornament their mistress always put in the kettle was [[102]]no longer used and must be lost, and that was why the mistress cried so much. Then he remembered the neighbour who came and went into the closet, and came out after a while with the treasure in his hand, and how he saw him put it in his pocket. The dog then called the cat and told her all, but said, “Alas! I am but a dog. I cannot get it, but you can, for you are able to get on the roofs of houses and crawl in windows, and you must get it.” When the cat heard where it was, she said, “But the river, how can I get across the river?” to which he replied, “I can swim, and when you come to the bank you get on my back and I will take you across.” So together they went. When they reached the river the cat jumped on the dog’s back and he took her over safely. Then he said, “I will wait here for you while you go to the house for our mistress’ treasure.”
Over the roofs and along fences the cat went till she came to the right house; then she found a window open, and walking in she curled down in a warm place to take note of what was going on and to make her plans. After a time she spied a rathole, and going over to it she waited patiently till a big mouse came out; then she sprang upon it and held it fast. How the poor thing plead for its life! The cat said, “Mouse, I will save your life if you will do me [[103]]a favour.” The mouse promised gladly, and the cat told of the lost treasure and that it was in the house. The mouse said, “I know about that; every day the family eat good food; let me go and I will get it for you.” “No,” said the cat, “I cannot let you go, for you would not come back. I will hold you closely, but you call your companions and tell them where it is, and when they bring it I will let you go.” Then the mouse called out and all the mice came running, and when told what to do, away they went in search of the gold ornament. After a time they came back with it and the poor mouse was allowed to go, while the cat made her way back to the riverside with the ornament in her mouth.
She found the dog waiting for her, and when he saw the treasure in her mouth he barked and jumped for joy. Before she got on his back he said to her, “We are both very hungry; now, if in going over the river you see a fish or anything good to eat, don’t try to get it, for if you do you will drop the treasure.” This he repeated once and again and they started for the other side. Just before reaching the other side a fish jumped up in the cat’s face, and before she thought, she made a grab for it and so lost the ornament in the river. How the dog did scold and howl then; he was so [[104]]hungry, and such visions of a good supper had filled his eyes all the way over. The cat was so sorry, and promised she would think of a way to get it if only he would not bark so loudly. Looking around she saw a big frog who looked very friendly, and to her she told all her troubles and said, “I know you like to do good deeds of mercy, so please help me.” The frog agreed and jumped into the river, and after a little returned with the lost charm. Then after thanking the frog, the cat and dog started home; so happy were they they could not get over the ground fast enough. The cat mewed at the door, and when the old lady opened it and saw her with the lost treasure, she caught her up, made a big fuss over her, took her in the house, and shut the door, thus leaving the dog out in the court; as she did not know how much he had helped the cat, she did not pay any attention to him.
Soon a big supper was ready, and once again the mother and son were happy. This time in their gratitude they fed the cat first, all she could eat, but forgot the dog, so absorbed were they in their own supper and in planning a good, safe hiding-place for the most precious charm. After a little the cat went out into the yard, and seeing the poor, hungry dog, she told him with great pride of all the good things [[105]]she had had to eat, and the nice things the family had promised her. “There is nothing left for you,” said the cat, “and if you are hungry you had better fly around and find a bone.” When the dog heard this he sprang upon her and bit her so she died immediately. Then he went and told all the dogs about it. When they heard the story they were most indignant at such ingratitude, and then and there took a solemn vow of eternal enmity to the cats for all time to come. Thus they have kept their vow, and to this day in all lands the dog is the enemy of the cat. [[106]]