Why the Cat Hates the Mouse

Why the Cat Hates the Mouse is told to teach about contentment.

Cat hates rat

Why the Cat Hates the Mouse

A long time ago in the land of Calabar, there was a king who ruled for over fifty years. He was called Ansa. Ansa was a man that believed that humans should live together in unity with animals, and he made that clear. He ruled the land of Calabar peacefully through all the years that he was there. The people had no problem with him. They were not even bothered by the fact that he had a cat and a rat living with him.

Everyone knew that Ansa was a man of peace and he had a great love for his people, so they didn’t object when they saw that he had a cat and a rat living with him. The Cat was even called Ansa’s faithful housekeeper, and the Rat was Ansa’s houseboy. They never had any problem with each other. 

Everyone knew that the Cat was closer to Ansa than the Rat. They also knew that the Cat was richer than the Rat.

Ansa was a very obstinate, headstrong man, but was very fond of the Cat, who had been in his store for many years. He trusted the Cat with all of him and believed that he could never break his heart. The Rat, on the other hand, had no issues with both of them because he was in love with one of the King’s servant girls.

Day and night, he would stay up thinking of how he would win the girl over, and he always came up with absolutely nothing good.

“What am I doing?” Rat said to himself. “I am a very poor rat, and I have nothing to give to this beautiful damsel. There is no way she will even look in my direction twice. I should just forget about my feelings for her and go about my regular business.”

But the Rat couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful servant girl and wanted to have her by all means.

“Is money the only problem here?!” He asked himself once. “I don’t need to have money. I just need to be surprising her with gifts. Then I am sure that she will love me as much as I love her,” Rat said to himself, and he became very excited.

“But wait! Where will I get these gifts?! I need money to buy gifts, so how will I now buy gifts for her without money?!” The Rat was back in the same predicament as before, and this time, he didn’t know how to get out of it.

Just as he was deep in thought, he saw the Cat walking past him, and he was heading into the store room with the head cook to check what they didn’t have.

“Cat, I am telling you that half of the things in the store are about to finish. We need to get more things that will last us till at least the end of the month,” the woman said.

“So you are telling me that what we currently have in store will not be enough to take care of everyone in the palace till the end of the month?” Cat asked.

“That is exactly what I am saying.” The lady responded.

The woman and Cat had this conversation as they passed by the Rat and they didn’t even notice that he was standing there. They didn’t notice him because he was so small. This realization gave the Rat a very bad idea.

“I know what to do,” he said and snapped his fingers. I will have to steal from the store room. No one would ever notice me because I am so small. I mean, come on. Just look at how the Cat and that woman walked passed me without even knowing that I was the one standing there. No one would know, and it would be so easy.”

Rat convinced himself, and before anyone could change his mind, he went back to his place and started mapping out the plan.

Rat decided he would wait until the night before he executed his plan. So when it was nighttime, Rat went to the roof of the storehouse and cut a hole through it, and because of how small he was, it was easy for him to enter the storehouse. But before he entered, he threw a rope from the roof to the ground. When he was in there, he packed corn and native pear. When it was time for him to leave, he tied the rope he threw down to his body and started climbing up. The act was so simple, and before he knew what was happening, he was back at his house.

“Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe it was that simple. Now I have some gifts to give to my sweetheart.” Rat was so excited that the next day, he ran to meet his sweetheart.

“My darling,” he said when he reached the servant girl. 

When the girl saw him, she rolled her eyes.

“Rat, didn’t I tell you that I am too costly for you to want to maintain?!” She almost shouted.

“Calm down, my sweetheart,” Rat maintained his cool. “I brought some gifts for you,” he said and handed the bags of things he stole to the girl. The girl took the gifts, and out of excitement, she hugged Rat. Rat was far lost in his feelings to notice that someone saw all that had happened.

This continued for months till one day, Ansa came for the quarterly report of his storehouse. So he called Cat to look into the record. They noticed that some corn and native pears were missing. Ansa was so angry that he beat Cat mercilessly. All of Cat’s pleading fell on deaf ears.

“Cat, I am giving you till the end of this week. If you do not produce all the corn and native pear you have been stealing from me, I will kill you,” Ansa thundered.

Cat became very scared, but his friend came to his rescue.

“Cat,” his friend said to him when he went to meet him at his house later. “I know who has been stealing the corn and native pear,” Cat’s friend said.

“Take me to the thief,” Cat said immediately. So his friend took him to where Rat always snuck in at night to steal. The next day, Cat told Ansa of what he saw and heard.

Rat alongside the servant girl he always gave the food was immediately called. Ansa ordered the servant girl to be beaten. After that, he told Cat he could no longer trust him and fired him. But before he left, he gave him the Rat. He told him to do whatever he pleases to the Rat.

The Cat, in his anger, killed the Rat. Since that day, whenever the Cat sees the Rat, he always haunts him and kills him because it was because of Rat that he lost his position in the palace.

 

MORAL LESSON

  • Be contended with what you have. 
  • Do not steal to impress anyone.

 

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