A folktale of Yamagata
| "The Dancing Cat" | |
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A long, long time ago, an old man and an old woman lived to the west of the castle. As they were not blessed with children, they lavished their love on a calico cat they had found in the wild, treating him like their own child. The cat was clever and would accompany them to the paddy fields. One evening, the calico cat was wailing so much, the old couple peered out through the doorway. It seemed as if the cat was saying, "Over there! Over there!" So, the old couple followed him to the castle hill where they found a beggar lying on the ground, weak from hunger and illness. Astonished, they brought the beggar home to their house to nurse him back to health. Everyone was happy when the beggar recovered and he said to them, "I am grateful for your hospitality. I would like to give you something to demonstrate my thanks, but I have nothing with me. Instead, I will teach your clever cat how to dance." The beggar put a lot of effort into giving the cat dancing lessons until the cat became a very good dancer. And then, all of a sudden, the beggar disappeared. Rumours spread to the old couple's neighbours and to people in the next village. The old couple was urged by their neighbours to allow the cat to dance at the autumn festival. This Ayukai festival was a splendid affair and people came from far and wide. The Ayukai festival dawned and the festival opened in a most impressive way. The old man and old woman left home with their calico cat, carrying a mat. They rolled out the mat in the centre of town and the old man called out in a loud voice, "Gather round, gather round, to see a rare cat dance." And indeed many onlookers gathered. The cat wore a red kimono with a handkerchief on his head. His performance was excellent and also very funny. The onlookers watched this rare and wonderful cat dance over and over again and money began to pile up on the mat. The old man and the old woman were astonished. "We can't accept all this money," they said, but in the end, they took it home with them. "After all, our cat did it," they observed. With all this money, the old man and old woman were able to live very comfortably and if there was ever anybody in need, they had the means to offer them aid, which they did. This all goes to show that you should always treasure your pet cat. Treasure him greatly!
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