Story: Why the Cat Hates the Dog

A long time ago, before dogs and cats were enemies, they were great friends. The dog and the cat did everything together and helped each other in one another's time of need. They had no reason to hate each other, for they were both loved by their masters and they both helped each other hunt. When the dog would catch a bigger meal, he would share with the cat. When the cat would catch many mice, he would share his treats with the dog. They were the best of friends.

One day, the cat decided to go hunting for a mouse. He found many mice, but the dog was not satisfied.

"Thank you for the mice," the dog said. "But I am feeling very hungry today and the master hasn't let me out to hunt.. is there any way you can catch something bigger?"

The cat was not as big as the dog, but he was still a good hunter. He had sharp claws and teeth and was able to climb to tall places that the dog could not reach.

"Hmmm.. Okay, I will find something bigger for you. Don't worry." the cat replied.

It was then that the cat began to look around the house. He was an inside hunter, and he had cleaned the house of all the mice so there were none left. Suddenly, he noticed high on a shelf there was a big fish. It was much larger than a mouse and was just sitting there in a bowl ready to be hunted. So he jumped up, and grabbed the fish with his claws. He felt very victorious and took the fish back to the dog. The dog was incredibly happy and ate the whole fish very quickly.

"I'm very full now. Thank you cat." he said.

The next day, the cat heard a shout from his master. "WHAT HAS THAT CAT DONE!?"

The cat was very confused. The master came up, grabbed the cat and threw him out into the cold. "How dare you kill my fish! I was going to give that as a gift to me nephew! I paid a lot of money for that! You are a stupid cat, my smart dog knows not to kill my pet fish!"

The cat was very angry. He had been thrown out all because the dog wasn't satisfied with the mice. From that day on, cats no longer listened to humans and insisted that humans treat them with the utmost respect. They also hated dogs and would scratch and hurt them, and eventually dogs learned to hunt the cat. This is why the dog and the cat are enemies and why the cat does not take orders from humans.

Cat and Dog

Author's note: I retold the story Why the Dog and the Cat Are Enemies from the Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm. In the original story. the dog comes up with an idea on how to get a ring back to the owner but needs the cats help. They work together, but the cat is the one able to climb and get the ring to the owner, so the cat is praised and the dog is beaten for not returning the ring. In my story, I wanted to just retell why they are enemies in my own way, and I also wanted to add why cats don't do tricks or listen to humans like dogs do.

Tech Tip: Reverse Image Search

I read Ramayana, so I understand what this photo means. It is representing how Sita was kidnapped by Ravana in the story, so she had to be rescued.

Story of how Ravana kidnapped Sita

Reading Part B: Chinese Fairy Book

These reading notes are from the Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm. I really enjoyed part A and I think there are a couple of stories that are good contenders for my storytelling. Part B was also very enjoyable, however. My favorite stories were the two involving the ogres, and all of the other stories were good as well. I will use one of these stories or one from my last post for my storytelling.

I thought that The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away was a very interesting story that, again, had an ending that I didn't really agree with. It seemed like a Shrek kind of story, and I think that combining this story with that movie would be very fun. Perhaps the ogre was a nice guy and it all was out of context.

The Flying Ogre is also an interesting story. I feel that it is very short and has potential to be elaborated on. Where did the ogre come from? Was she really bad? What had she done to other places? Could she be redeemed? I think that there are a lot of unanswered questions here. Making a love story out of her and someone else might be fun as well. Again, I see Shrek here, with people hunting her but maybe she is just misunderstood.

Ogre

Reading Part A: Chinese Fairy Book

This week I chose readings from the Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm. A few of these readings looked familiar to me as I glanced over them, and I think they might have been included in some practice exercises we have done over the semester. There are many stories and ways to go with this reading and I feel like I have more freedom than with my last reading. My last reading I felt slightly restricted. I like collections of stories more than one long story because I can choose what I like best and go from there.

The first story that interested me was The Cave of the Beasts. It is a strange little story of a father who at first wants to send his daughters out to their deaths, then wants them back, and the family becomes happy and wealthy in the end. This doesn't seem how this story should end. The father should definitely be punished for his actions, so I think there are some things I can change here.

I also liked Why the Dog and the Cat are Enemies. This is a story that I read as a practice for this class earlier, so I already knew I would like it. It is a fun way of telling why dogs and cats hate each other, and I think telling this story in my own way would be fun and interesting, and also gives me a lot of freedom.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

I also really liked the King of the Ants. I think there is a lot of really fun ways I could do this, and the title reminds me of some animated movies I've seen like A Bug's Life.