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 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 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, 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 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 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 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
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.