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Stories About Cats
Why cats don't wash up before eating
How Pussy Willows got their name
During witchcraft days in Europe and America, cats were considered companions to witches and, as such, omens of bad luck. In the early 1700's, people still believed that witches sometimes took the shape of cats and that witches and cats spoke the same language. Many persons still think that a black cat is an omen of bad luck especially when it crosses one's path.
In ancient Egypt and Japan, spiritualists believed that cats protected people from supernatural forces. Many Orientals credited the cat with the ability to see in the past and forecast the future and also to see beings and objects invisible to man. Even today, the feline habit of looking steadily and unblinkingly at someone, or of sitting for long periods with half-closed eyes, gives the cat the reputation for being "all knowing" and wise.
In the seventeenth century, cats were considered excellent weather predictors. A cat washing its face toward the wind, or an elderly cat frisking about, meant that a storm was brewing. When a cat sat with its back to the fire, it was thought that a frost was coming. These ideas aren't as far-fetched as they sound. Scientists have reported that cats' supersensitive hearing powers have enabled them to pick up the ground vibrations that precede a hurricane.
However, superstitions and myths through the ages have led to many false ideas about cats. The common belief that cats see in total darkness simply isn't so. But it is a fact that a cat's eyes are constructed so its night vision is superior to that of a human being.
The old saying that a cat has nine lives is now treated lightly, but many people still think that a cat can fall many stories and emerge alive, and even unhurt. Again, not so. Feline grace and sinewy muscles may spare a cat harm in a short tumble, but many cats die every year in falls from high places. If you have seen (or heard) a cat that has been "treed" by a dog or one that has climbed too high in a tree, you know that usually it is frightened and is asking to be rescued.
WHY DON'T CATS WASH UP BEFORE THEY EAT?
As legend goes, the cat once caught a mouse and was about to eat the tasty little morsel when the mouse chided the cat for her bad manners. "What?" cried the mouse, "You're going to eat me without first washing your face and hands?" The mortified cat immediately dropped the mouse and began washing, and the clever little mouse promptly scooted off. Ever since, cats have not washed up before dinner.
HOW PUSSY WILLOWS GOT THEIR NAME ?
According to an old Polish legend, many springtimes ago a mother cat was crying at the bank of the river in which her kittens were drowning. The willows at the river's edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens who had fallen into the river while chasing butterflies. The kittens gripped on tightly to their branches and were safely brought to shore. Each springtime since, goes the legend, the willow branches sprout tiny fur-like buds at their tips where the tiny kittens once clung.
In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. On the fifth day he created the cat but, unlike today, the cat was without fur.This was fine for awhile; it was cool in the summer and easy to keep clean. Plus there were no problem with hair balls.After a while other animals with fur started to tease this hairless creature. They would sing, "Ha, ha, the hairless cat, the hairless cat is ugly and fat!" "Oh how beautiful the other animals are with their colorful coats of fur,"thought the hairless cat. Soon the cat forgot the songs and was proud again, for it was beautiful in its own way. Then winter came and it got cold. The cat tried to keep warm, he curled up under bushes and with other animals, but was not as warm as his friends. When the cat tried to find warm places to stay, he was never able to get comfortable and was always getting bumps and scratches. One cold night as the cat was curled up under a bush and staring at the sky, a rabbit came by.
"Why are you so sad cat?" asked the bunny. "I have no fur and I am ugly and cold." replied the cat.
The rabbit cuddled next to the cat and whispered to him in his ears, "If you wish on a shooting star, and believe, your wish can come true."
Just about that time a star glimmered across the sky and the cat knew what to do. The cat closed his eyes tightly and said, "I wish, I wish I had fur and also all other cats of the world had beautiful coats of fur like other animals." The cat opened his eyes just in time to see the star vanish behind the moon. A few seconds later the moon began to glow as brightly as the sun and cats all over the world came out of hiding to see the bright light. On the other side of the world, there stood two cats that were greatly frightened and hid deep in a cave somewhere far away. As the light faded, fur began to grow on the cat. Within minutes the cat and all other cats had beautiful coats of fur. Some long, some short, and of different colors. Deep in the cave shivered the two scared cats. These cats did not see or feel the light, so no hair grew on them. From then on, the cat was not teased or cold. And the fur also protected the cat from injuries. Today all cats have fur except for the descendants of those two poor cats that hid. These cats grew in Great Britain and was given the breed name of "Rex," which means "timid."
In the 13th century, the first witchcraft trials were held, and the cat suffered greatly. The pagan religions held that witches took the form of cats at sundown. Cats were blamed for everything from souring the beer to spreading disease. It was commonly believed that their teeth contained venom and that their breath caused disease and infection. It has been recorded that in the year 1718 a William Montgomery of Cathiness alleged that hundreds of cats gathered outside of his house nightly, and spoke in human language. He claimed that he killed two of them and awoke the next morning to the news that two of the area's old women were mysteriously found dead in their beds.Any cat that was seen in the company of an old woman was assumed to be a witch's associate. Hundreds of unfortunate cats were burned alive by people who believed they did the work of the devil.
The fox was boasting to the cat of his clever devices for escaping his enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks which contains 100 ways of escaping my enemies," he said. "I have only one," said the cat, "but I can generally manage with that." Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in its branches. "This is my plan," said the cat. "What are you going to do?" The fox thought and thought as he looked in his bag of tricks, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer. At last the fox in his confusion was caught by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. Miss Puss, who had been looking on, said: "Better one safe way than 100 on which you can not reckon."
All of the mice met in council to discuss the best way to secure against attacks of the cat. After several suggestions were debated a mouse of experience and standing got up and said: "I think I have hit upon a plan which will ensure our future safety." We will fasten a bell around the neck of our enemy, the cat, which by its tinkling will warn us of her approach." As the proposal was being applauded, a mouse who was even wiser stood up on his feet and said: "It is easy to propose impossible solutions. I agree that it is an admirable plan, but who is going to bell the cat?"