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Week 5 Story : The Old Lion and the Lazy Cat

Deep in the jungle lived a mighty lion. In his old age, while he found that his claws and muscles still served him, his teeth were weary. After a meal, bits of meat would remain and during his slumber, mice would scurry about feasting on these scraps. This greatly disturbed the lion's sleep, and despite his best efforts, they persisted. He tried scaring them with his mighty roar, but the mice's brain were too small to remember this scare for any long amount of time, and after a few minutes they returned to him. The lion tried snapping them up to intimidate them, but the dumb mice seemed to not know any distinction between the flesh of the lion's prey and the flesh of their own. After many restless nights, the lion consulted his advisors.

"In your kindom," stated a fox, "there are a number of cats, one who is especially skilled in chasing away mice. Perhaps the mice see you as far too omnipotent to comprehend as a threat, but a cat is their natural predator. Call upon this subject and have her keep the mice away for you."

The lion did as the fox suggested, and the cat was dutiful in fulfilling her duty. At night, the lion slept peacefully. The watchful cat kept the mice away, chasing them back into their tunnels whenever they ventured to pop their whiskers in the direction of the lion. The lion had great thanks for the feline and quickly promoted her rank. Like this, the cat lived splendidly, enjoying the comforts of the lion's kingdom and answering to no one else.

But one thing the cat kept to herself, "The lion does not know that I lack the speed of my companions. The reason I am apt at keeping mice away is because I have not the ability to catch these rodents. Regardless, all is well. If the mice were to disappear, so would the lion's need for my service". And so the cat, keeping watch at night, lounged lazily during the day, gradually getting fatter and more comfortable in her duty.

One evening, the cat was invited to feast with other high-ranking officials in the lion's court. Never one to turn down succulent morsels, the cat approached the lion. "My leige, I would like to attend a place of business tonight. I shall return tomorrow, but in my stead, please accept my kitten to tend you".

The lion accepted the cat's proposal, and that night while the cat slept, the energetic kitten, eager to prove himself, quickly caught and killed all the mice. The next morning, the kitten piled all the mice he had caught into a pile and proudly presented them to the lion. "No more will these creatures scurry about you at night. May you sleep peacfully at night and call upon my service only on the occassion when they foolishly dare to approach you again."

The cat, seeing the pile of mice, heavily reproached the kitten, "Why have you killed these mice? You were instructed to make sure the lion slept peacfully".

The kitten retorted, "Why did you not forbid me to kill the mice? I cannot help my instincts, which is fueled by my speed and sharp senses."

The lion was much appreciative towards the kitten for solving his problem. He promptly dismissed the cat along with her position, choosing to keep the kitten in his service should the time arise his skills were needed again. The poor cat returned to her previous life, lamenting over her foolishness and cursing her own lack of skills and foresight.


Cat nuzzling a lion: source


The Tooti Nameh (The Tales of a Parrot). Ziya'al-Din Nakshabi (1801). Web Source


Author's Note: This was one of my favorite stories from The Tales of a Parrot. The overarching storyline is made of tales that a parrot tells his mistress to keep her from going to lover during the absence of her husband, his master. This particular story was intended to keep the mistress from having to repent uncessarily--should her husband return home--like the cat who repented to the mice in the original story. I took only the story of the lion and the cat, changing the moral a bit. I wanted to emphasize the importance of proactiveness and to not get lazy when granted favor or given an opportunity. I also focused on developing the cat's character more and adding more dialogue to reveal the cat's thoughts. I hope it was as enjoyable to read as it was to write! 




Comments

  1. That was a good story with a good moral I haven't heard before. I like the idea of not getting complacent because someone else will come and replace you. It's a very important moral, especially in the modern day and age. Go above the status quo! Your story was very original. Although I'm not familiar with the parrot story, but it seems like you added a lot of your own ideas into the story and made it your own!

    I enjoyed reading your story a lot and I think you have a real talent for this!

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  2. I love the picture at the end! Big ol' lion and a kitten, that is too cute! I thought the story was very good though, I wondered what would happen to the cat and kept reading to find out. If she wouldn't have been so lazy, everything would have been great. Overall, I enjoyed the story and thought you did a good job writing it.

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  3. Hello Moriah,

    Wow, I really had so much fun reading your story. The moral in this story was very clear and important to read. It served as a reminder to keep working hard and not to ever get lazy. Your writing style and voice was very clear, and it was an excellent read. You did a great job engaging your reader.

    -Andy

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  4. Hi Moriah,
    I really liked this one! I haven't read the original, but your author's note helped me understand the background of the story. I like the language that you used - that the mice "pop their whiskers" in the lion's direction was really charming, and made me think that this story takes place in a world of mice and cats, where the idioms and common expressions are mouse- and cat-related.

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