Featured image: a cat and a mouse - Photo credit: Andriamahanina, S. and Ratsima, M. (1975). Soa fianatra. Antananarivo: Fernand Nathan Madagascar.
Do you know why cats eat mice?
(DIKATENY MALAGASY ato!)
Malagasy folklore has different versions of why cats eat mice. This tale will tell you what happened between the cat and the mouse.
Once upon a time, Cat and Mouse used to be very good friends. One day, they decided to pay visit to their friend, Rabbit, who wasn’t well. Rabbit lived across a river.
It was raining a lot the previous night. So, the stones that Cat and Mouse stepped on to cross the river were covered in water.
Cat was a bit worried because he couldn’t swim. And it was late in the afternoon. “No worry, Cat! We’ll build a small boat for the two of us,” Mouse said.
So, Mouse dug a big sweet potato out in the field nearby. He started chewing the middle of the sweet potato to make a boat out of it. In a blink of an eye, the boat was ready.
Cat and Mouse went on board. The waves were strong and the boat was rocking a bit. Cat was scared, but he didn’t say anything as he was a bit embarrassed.
Then, all of the sudden, Mouse felt hungry. He thought, ‘Here I am, riding a boat. I’m on a sweet potato; and I feel like eating our boat because I’m hungry.’
Cat saw what Mouse was doing. he was shocked, “But! But! What are you doing, Mouse?” If you pierce our boat, then we’ll be in big trouble!”
“The boat doesn’t go fast at all because it’s too heavy,” said Mouse while eating the sweet potato. “So, I’ll eat a bit of it to make it go faster.”
The sweet potato was getting thinner and thinner. Cat couldn’t help it any longer and he snapped at Mouse.
“Mouse! Stop eating our boat at once! We’re all going to die!!!”
But, Mouse didn’t listen. He kept chewing the sweet potato as it was so tasty.
Then, the water started coming in.
And then, the boat sank! Mouse could swim easily, no problem. He reached the other side where he was watching Cat trying to swim. Mouse was dying of laughter looking at Cat struggling in the water.
Cat was no swimmer at all, but life was precious. So, he tried his best to swim. He struggled a lot to reach the end but he made it. Cat was exhausted. He had to have a rest first.
While Cat was having a rest, Mouse came towards Cat to greet him.
But, Cat was so angry he put Mouse in his mouth straightaway.
From that day, cats and mice were no longer friends.
And that’s why cats eat mice.
The story is adapted from Andriamahanina, S. and Ratsima, M. (1975). Soa fianatra. Antananarivo: Fernand Nathan Madagascar.
By L.
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