The
Cat Who Pretended To Be A Lama
A
long time ago lived a lama (1)
who spent his time in deep meditation. Next to him there lay a cat. One day the
cat stole the lama's snuff bottle and the lama went after the cat and got his
snuff bottle back. Then another time the cat stole the lama's rosary and hid in
a hole. When the lama grabbed the cat by the tail, the tail suddenly got torn
off.
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The
cat went away and came upon a place where many mice lived. There she made
herself comfortable and put the rosary around her neck. One day some mice came
along the way and circled the cat warily. So the cat said: "Don't be afraid
of me! I'm one of these lama cats. Let me teach you the holy doctrine saying not
to kill another living being. Come! Come here!"
So
the mice went to the cat and let her teach them. After a few days had passed
Khuchin tuct, the khaan of the mice (2),
told his mice: "Oh, it seems as if our teacher is eating us. In her
excrements there are traces of bone and hair. Go back home and get a bell."
He sent a few mice to carry out his request.
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Cat
by Herman Van Goubergen |
The
mice went home and came back with a bell. They said to the cat: "Teacher,
please accept this jewellery from us!" And they put the bell around her
neck. Khuchin tuct told his mice: "After today's lesson will be over, we
will exit one after another. If the bell should ring, we'll turn around and
hurry back."
So
when the lesson was finished, the mice went out together when suddenly they
heard the bell ringing. The mice hurried back, and there the cat had caught one
of the mice and was just about to eat it. Kuchin tuct said mournfully: "We
believed the lies of our false, hypocritical teacher and so we lost several of
our brothers and sisters." And so the mice moved to another place.
The
cat thought remorsefully: "If I had hidden my excrements, who would have
ever found out about me?" And since then, it is told, cats hide their
excrements by burying them.
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(1)
The lama is the monk in the Mongolian buddhism. (back
to the text)
(2)
The title of the khaan is similar to that of the king.
(back to the text)