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Cat's Quest
Judges, I suggest you curl up in a beanbag
with a cup of mocha. You're in for a folktale, and I hope you enjoy it
as much as I did writing it.
On the dawn of New Years, all twelve
of the zodiac animals readied themselves to make their yearly journey
to the Grand Emperor's banquet. The Cat was tricked out of his place in
the zodiac to the cunning Rat, and harbored a natural enmity against
the rodent. Every year, the Cat was shunned on New Years day, unable to
enter the grand palace, and he hated the Rat for it.
This year, the Rat was the
first to rise. Instead of making the journey directly to the Emperor's
palace, the Rat paid a visit to the Cat, thinking he could catch a ride
on Ox later. Rat cautiously approached Cat's home, and quietly woke Cat
up, knowing it could mean the end of his life (but it would totally be
worth it if he could jerk his chain again). Sure enough, when Cat
caught scent of Rat, he pinned him down and was about to do what all
cats do when Rat squeaked "Mercy! Mercy!"
"Why should I show you what you've
never shown me?" snarled Cat, wincing as he thought back to the First
year, when Rat pushed him off Ox during the river crossing. Rat saw the
fleeting grimace, and in desperation, gasped "I can show you where you
can have your own feast!"
Cat had good reason to distrust Rat,
for he was renown for his cunning and wiley ways. But for his very own
feast...Rat took Cat's hesitation as an opportunity, and continued
"There's a lovely tangerine tree at the base of the mountains, please,
let me live, and I will show you!"
Luckily for Rat, Cat released his
grip on his throat, and while Rat stumbled to his paws, Cat shook out
his white fur, still ruffled from being awakened so early. When Cat sat
down to smooth out his coat, Rat called to him to hurry, before Crane
awoke and picked the best fruit. Cat, slightly miffed from the early
morning rousing and being unable to take care of personal hygiene,
followed Rat reluctantly.
The two walked until the sandy path
of Cat's home turned to the rocky road of the mountains. Rat stopped
them in the shade of a nearby willow overlooking a placid pool of water.
"Cat, I must warn you, the tangerine tree houses Serpent in its branches, and-"
Rat broke off as Cat hissed menacingly.
"Have you brought me to another trap of yours?" he spit angrily.
"No, no, there's truly a wondrous tangerine tree! I
promise, the fruits are worth the risk!" Rat hastily added. Cat looked
ready to pounce, and quickly squeaked, "I know a way to get past
Serpent!" Rat silently hoped Cat would fall for his ruse.
Cat considered it, tail twitching slightly. "If it doesn't involve water..."
Rat only said "You only need to get
your fur dirty for a little while." Oh, the laugh he would have!
Tangerines were the sweetest fruit
that even the Emperor served in his grand palace, but to get his snowy
coat dirty was unthinkable! Cat was sorely tempted, and even if little
Rat tried to trick him again, he would be watching and ready this time.
Sighing under his breath, Cat asked, "Well, I'll trust you. What must I
do?"
Quivering his whiskers, Rat said,
"Why, with a little camouflage, you could sneak right past him! You're
quiet enough on your padded paws, and Snake can't see well..."
Cat could see the plan
now. It was a simple matter of scaling a tree, and being as silent as
possible. The only problem was...
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Cat struggled not to fidget as Rat
plastered his fur with mud. He groaned at the thought of getting the
mess cleaned out later, but he concentrated on tasting those lovely
tangerines. Rat, meanwhile, was gleefully slathering Cat, taking care
to work the grime between the fur. However, in his haste, he left Cat's
tail, paws, and face undone, but dismissed it as a trivial problem.
As soon as Rat said "Done!"
Cat bounded over to the scraggly tangerine tree. It was mercifully easy
to scale, and in a flash, Cat was at the crook of the first branch. Cat
quietly called to Rat "Can you see anything?" Rat saw the flash of his
four paws and the swish of his tail in the shadows of the leaves, but
loudly called back "Not a thing, you're practically invisible!"
Rat quietly watched Cat dart across
the limbs, hardly making a rustle. However, a silvery glint of scales
caught Rat's eye, followed by the deathly yellow eyes of Serpent. Rat's
squeak of warning caught in his throat, and he fainted clean away. Cat
was blissfully unaware, the whole of his attention focused on a
particularly juicy looking fruit hanging from a low branch. He leaped
up a branch, but one of his hind paws slipped, and he fell short.
Before tumbling to the ground, he caught hold of a lower branch, and
pulled himself up. The tangerine was almost glowing with rising sun,
and its sweet scent wafted through the nearby leaves. It was only a
paw-length away! Cat stretched out his mud-streaked arm, and was
surprised to see his pristine white paw. "That darn Rat!"
However, just as Cat touched the
small orange fruit, he felt a great pain in his left thigh, but it went
numb almost immediately, and the numbness spread. Whipping his head
around, he saw Serpent's jaws closed around his thigh, a tiny rivulet
of blood rapidly dripping down below. In Cat's hurry to the tangerine,
Serpent quietly followed. He was quite irate at, first being woken
early, and second, having an unwanted visitor in his tree. The enraged
Serpent had quietly slithered up the trunk to the feline, and struck
out at one of his legs.
The last thing Cat heard was a heavy
whizzing past his left ear, and the air flying past as he fell
unconscious and dropped from the overhanging branch. His last coherent
thoughts were an expletive directed at Rat and an overwhelming grief to
have come close, so close, to a celebration of his own...
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A small boy was making the trip up
the mountain path to gather some firewood for the morning congee, but
was sidetracked by the sweet scent of...
"Tangerines!" he exclaimed
excitedly, knowing his family could never afford to buy any at the
market. Quickly setting aside his beaten-up bag of wood, he sprinted
towards the tree. He stopped short, when he felt a drop of moisture
streak down his right cheek, and looked up to see if rain had started.
To his surprise, he saw a muddy cat groggily clawing at the branch, and
a serpent behind, rearing his head back to strike again. The boy
stooped to grab a brownish rock, which he lobbed at the snake. (The
rock was oddly squishy.) Just in time too, for Cat was by now
unconscious, and had let go of the limb. The boy managed to catch Cat,
and when the boy looked up, the serpent had fled. Knowing which was
more important, the small boy ran as fast as he could back to his
humble cottage, Cat nestled in his arms. The wood, he would get later.
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By the time Cat awoke, the sun was
blazing red against the darkening purple clouds outside. Dismayed, Cat
sprang to his paws... only to find his hind left leg in a splint... and
he promptly toppled over again. He cried at the thought of losing out
on the sweet fruit, and of falling into Rat's trap yet again!
The boy ran back into the room when
he heard the quiet mewing and stroked Cat's fur, doing his best to
smooth out the ragged tufts the mud had encrusted.
Cat was startled at the boy's hands, but he submitted quietly in his misery.
The boy had left the cat at home
after treating the bite and bleeding, and ran back to the tangerine
tree. He scanned the leaves and shadows for any sign of the serpent,
but not a rustle disturbed the old leaves. Mercifully, the tree was
short and easy to climb, so the boy shinnied up the trunk, and shook
the branches free of the fruit. After cramming what he could into his
now-swollen wood bag, he raced home. It was well after breakfast, but
the boy made do with cold congee and two of the sweet fruits from the
tree.
At the sound of the cat's
mewling, the boy ran to comfort it. The cat's cries quieted somewhat as
he stroked its dirty fur. Even though it was alive, its eyes were half
closed, ears dejectedly lying flat against its head. The boy remembered
the creature reaching for something as the serpent closed in to strike,
and again raced out of the room. He entered quietly the next time,
carrying a tangerine in his outstretched palm. Cat came to moments
later, nose twitching. The boy was now sitting on a tatami mat next to
the low table, peeling a tangerine. Soon, its citrus scent perfumed the
room, and Cat mewed plaintively again. He almost cried too, but his
nose touched something moist. And tangy. Cat licked off the juice that
splashed onto his nose, and opened his eyes to see a generous half of
the orange fruit laying before him. Wide-eyed, he awkwardly sat up and
looked toward the boy, who was now nibbling a slice. Purring, almost
crying again, Cat happily devoured the fruit, slice by slice. The boy
smiled, and sprinted out and in with more of the sweet fruit. After
enjoying the afternoon snack, Cat pawed at the air toward the boy. The
boy leaned closer, wondering what else the cat could want. Cat pressed
his furry head against the boy's cheek, and purred loudly to show his
thanks. The two fell asleep together, the boy stroking the cat's fur,
and Cat purring.
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The next day, Cat's leg healed
enough for him to walk. While the boy was out collecting more wood (and
hopefully more tangerines), Cat settled near the washbin, and attempted
to scrub his fur clean. Rat had done his work too well, and Cat
struggled to get his coat close to the pearly white it once was,
without success. He curled his tail around his body, disgruntled at the
difference between pelt and tail. "But it was worth that taste of
heaven," he thought, purring, as the familiar patter of feet crossed
the room, and the thump of a heavy bag accompanied by a sigh of relief
greeted his ears.
~FIN (omg)
Story is almost completely made up, but,
yes, it is based on traditional Chinese folklore. The order of the
Zodiac was determined on the order the animals could arrive at the Jade
Emperor's palace, and you could infer that the Rat cheated and knocked
Cat out of the running. Tangerines represent good health and fertility.
Leaves intact = long-lasting relationships.
On the side, if you invert Cat's colors, you'll have the Lilac point Siamese cat \o/
SPOILER Yes, the boy threw the unconscious
Rat at Serpent, which knocked Serpent out and woke up Rat, who scuttled
off to the New Years' Banquet./endSpoiler
*sighs* Yes, the boy is also your very own DomoBrasil.
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