Contents. Tales.
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Vladimir
Dahl: The Cat and the Fox.
Fairy tales which was written by
Tatyana, when she was 11 year old. These fairy tales was published in the local newspaper in 1992:
There was once a man who had a cat that had caught many a mouse in its youth, but had grown lazy with old age.
Or perhaps it had lumbago. Anyway it was of no use at all in the house or yard, and since they stopped feeding it, it
began to hunt for itself-only not mice, as before, but milk, cream, butter and
cottage cheese, which were evidently greatly to its taste. So the mistress began to chide her husband: what was he doing, keeping a cat that was spoilt, had not so much as bit the tail off a single mouse for nigh on a year, and got up to mischief all day.
"For one thing," she said, "I've heard that the mice are laughing at us; and for another, the cat gives us no peace: you can't keep everything away from it!
"Well, why go on at me? Why not do something about it yourself? It's no son of mine, is it?"
The mistress of the house said it was not a woman's job, and that the man should take the cat into the forest when he went to get firewood, and leave it there. And so he did: he went out for firewood, taking the cat with him in a sack", and when he had collected enough branches, he undid the sack, tossed the poor cat into a gully, and drove off. "There," thought the cat, "if I were a dog I would run after the cart, even though dogs are my enemies, but my nature will not permit me to do that. I must evidently stay here and perish'"
"Good-day, Felix the Cat!" said Mistress Fox, seeing the new-comer.
"Good-day, if you like," said the cat, turning its head away, because it was angry with the man.
"How did you get here and what do you want?" Felix the Cat told her all.
"I used to have a nap after each meal," he said, "that's what made me sleek and fat; but now I am old and good for nothing, and they have banished me here for bad
behaviour. So now I am done for."
"Wait," thought the Fox. "Can-1 not turn this to some ad-vantage? Felix the Cat is an animal the likes of which no one in the forest has seen or heard of: he can be used to frighten folk."
"Now look here, friend Felix," said the Fox, "I am sorry for you and will help you. Come and live with me. Don't expect anything grand, I am a simple soul, but you're welcome to the little I have."
"Thank you for your kind words," said Felix. "Let us go."
And the Fox took him to her hole, dug it out to make it wider, with a funnel-shaped opening to make it look more frightening, and ordered the cat to lie down and have a rest. Then she ran off to call the animals together.
The animals assembled, large and small, to hear what the Fox had to say. After greeting them warmly and wishing them all manner of good things, she said:
"Have you heard what has been happening in our district, friends? A new bailiff has been sent to us, a more terrible one than we have ever seen before. There are hard times ahead! He is called Felix the Cat; he has a, bewhiskered face. a needle tongue, eyes like candles, claws like rakes, the tail of a snake, soft fur, and wicked thoughts. Asleep he snores like a human, and awake I have heard him utter but one word-he is forever crying more, more, more whatever offerings you bring him. So, friends, he has already driven me from my home! My poor dugout caught his fancy. But never mind, I would not grieve over that-I would not complain if he offended me. I would just take my goods and chattels and go away to a tree stump or a well, but he will not let me, he orders me to feed him. And that is one thing I cannot do alone. I and my few servants have little enough food, and the bailiff has devoured all my stores and provisions. And he ordered me to call a meeting, so that you may know, and remember, and fear the new bailiff, Felix the Cat. And he has ordered the meeting to see to it that every day he is served with meat and milk. That is all I have to say, friends, you know what to do:
you are cleverer than 1. But our new bailiff is angry, very angry indeed."
The meeting became noisy and agitated like waves on the sea. "The further you go, the harder it gets," grumbled Bruin, scratching himself. But no one refused to do what the meeting charged him with, and they went home, each remembering what he had to take to the Fox's house and when; but the first thing they agreed to do was to go together tomorrow to pay their respects to Felix the Cat and bring him presents.