The Princess and the Cat: A Tale from India

I have mentioned that there are few tales in which cats are true villains to be found in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World. The following tale is a rare exception.

While that in itself makes the tale of particular interest, the fascination grows with the story's usage of elements that usually appear in ATU 510B: Peau d’Asne (Donkeyskin), one of the tales in the vast Cinderella Cycle of folktales. The tale deals with abuse and fear with elements that become quite modern--a stalker, the heroine escaping her stalker in disguise with name changing, for example--but has a happy ending.

I decided to share this story in full since it is so very interesting. It also represents the wide range of tales to be found in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World.

The Princess and the Cat

India

THERE was once a King who had an only daughter, whom he loved exceedingly. One day she went into the bazar and saw a man selling a kitten, which she bought and took home. She was very fond of it, and took such care of it that it became an enormous cat.

When the time came for the Princess to be married the cat was very angry and jealous. He asked her if it was true that she was going to be married. She said nothing, and hung down her head for shame. When the procession arrived the cat again asked her if she was going away. Again she made no answer. When the bridegroom’s people came the cat jumped upon them and began to scratch and tear them until they were obliged to run away to save their lives.

When the King heard this he was astonished; but what could they do because the cat threatened to kill them all. The Princess was so afraid of him that she was obliged to be kind to him.

One day the cat said to her: “I am going out hunting.”

While he was away the Princess took the chance of escaping and went off to the house of a Chamar. She got the Chamar to make her a covering of skin so that the cat should not know her, and when her skin-coat was ready she put it on and started on her travels. On her way she met the cat, and when she saw him coming she sprinkled some barley on the ground and began to pick it up.

The cat asked her who she was, and she answered: “I am Chamni (the skin-woman), and I live by picking up the grains that fall on the ground.”

The cat went back to the palace and searched everywhere for her, but he could not find her.

At last the Princess reached the land of the Prince, her husband, and came begging at the palace door. Her mother-in-law saw her, and taking pity on her, gave her service in the kitchen. But as her skin-coat gave a foul smell no one would let her sit near them, and she had to remain apart.

One day the man who grazed the elephants fell sick and there was no one to tend them; so Chamni was sent out with them. When she was alone in the jungle she used to take off her coat of skin, and she made a swing in which she used to lie and sing while the Fairies from Indrasan came and sang, and sported with her. This so pleased the elephants that they stood round her and listened to the music.

As they would not graze they became so lean that the Prince could not understand the reason, and one day the Prince went himself to inspect them, and when he saw Chamni in her real form he was fascinated with her beauty. When she came back he sent for her, and when he had made her take off her coat of skin and heard her story, he accepted her as his wife. She told him about the cat, but he said: “Do not fear. When he comes I will kill him.”

Meanwhile the cat had traced out the Princess, and taking the form of bangle-seller (Churiharin) arrived at the palace. She stood outside crying: “Bangles to sell. Who wants bangles?”

The Princess called her in and was having a set of bangles fitted on, when the bangle-seller suddenly sprang upon the Prince, and would have torn him to pieces had not the servants come to his aid. The cat escaped, but some days later as the Prince and Princess were in their room, he made a hole in the roof and was just about to spring upon them when the Princess, who was awake, saw him and called to her husband. He seized his sword and cut off the cat’s head; after which they lived in the utmost happiness.

NOTES

A folktale told by Mazhar Husen, of Mitzapur.

Source: Husen, Mazhar. “The Princess and the Cat.” North Indian Notes and Queries. Oct. 1893, p. 121-122.

The Many Tale Types in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World

So while I have a lot of fun looking for multiple versions of stories in an ATU tale type when researching my books, for Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World my favorite section by far was "More Cat Tales" where I collected many, many other cat tales that I found. There are 94 tales in that section--more than one book all in itself--so I enjoyed the searching obviously!

From my introduction:

The “More Cat Tales” section may be the most fascinating thanks to its wide breadth of content. One goal of this section was to include representative tales from other tale types known to have cats in them as well as dozens more tales that were not classified. Hence we see cats with a diverse representation.

Folktales with cats tend to use well-known cat traits to drive or at least embellish the stories. So we have cats that are intelligent, cunning, independent, loyal, helpful, and sometimes even menacing. They are rarely victims and often come out victors in any conflicts.

One of the rare examples of a victimized cat can be found in ATU 1370: The Lazy Wife Is Reformed. It is a disturbing but not uncommon tale, although I chose to share only one example of it in this collection as “The Lazy Cat” from Hungary. A housecat is held responsible for a lazy wife’s poor housework. The husband beats the innocent cat (and his wife while she is holding the cat) as a means of teaching the wife a lesson. The wife is ultimately “reformed” into a better housekeeper. The tale, while considered humorous in times past, will be offensive to many modern readers with its violence against women and animals as well as its overall moral.

I'll discuss more of the other represented tale types in coming days, but wanted to share the table from the book's end matter that shows many of the tale types I identified.

Most of the tales in the "More Cat Tales" section were NOT identified by tale type, but the best known cat tale types and some other familiar types I did identify and provide in the list. You can click on the images below to see them larger.

ATU 130: The Animals in Night Quarters (Bremen Town Musicians)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I'm ready for some more posts about Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World if you are! I can't even remember what I've covered and what I haven't so far. This book is already archived in my brain to make way for the next books so that is always a challenge, too. So I thought I would start with a simple topic, The Bremen Town Musicians.

From the book's introduction:

ATU 130: The Bremen Town Musicians

Cats are often key players in ATU 130: The Animals in Night Quarters tales. The most famous version of this tale is “The Bremen Town Musicians” from the many editions of Kinder- und Hausmärchen by the Grimms.

Several animals that are nearing the end of their usefulness to their owners fear their looming demise, so they band together to find a new home and occupation in their “retirement” years. In the Grimms’ tale the animals are a donkey, dog, cat and rooster, but the cast of animals varies across countries and variants. Many versions that include a cat are offered in this collection.

The animals eventually discover a house that they acquire from a band of robbers after a humorous nighttime adventure that includes each of the animals doing what they do best, from clawing to kicking, etc. to roust and scare away the robbers. This is a fun tale that nevertheless has a strong message about the usefulness of the aged.

There are 13 ATU 130 tales in the collection, not all of which include cats, including:

Benibaire from Spain
The Bull, the Tup, the Cock, and the Steg from England
Jack and His Comrades from Ireland
The Story of the White Pet from Scotland
The Choristers of St. Gudule from Belgium (Flanders)
The Bremen Town Musicians from Germany
Martin’s Eve from Austria
The World’s Reward from South Africa
The Monkey and the Crab from Japan
The Battle of the Ape and the Crab from Japan
How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune: I from United States
How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune: II from United States
The Dog, the Cat, the Ass, and the Cock from United States

I collected more than these that didn't include cats, but only kept for the collection those with cats or those tales that were unusual enough to merit inclusion without or without cats.

One of my favorite tales in this set is "Martin's Eve" from Austria. One reason is only important to me, I admit. I have many methods for acquiring the tales in these collections. One is cross-referencing between sources since oftentimes scholars will reference similar tales. Another is to use existing scholarship and studies of tales in a tale type. Finally, the most time consuming and challenging is raw research. I manually or digitally searched about 1,000 folklore titles for cat stories for this collection. Martin's Eve was one of the finds that I stumbled upon, not one I found referenced anywhere, but an obvious ATU 130 when I found it. So it felt like gold to find it! I love those moments, rare as they are. And the title didn't make me think it would be anything useful, so it was a complete surprise. The cat is the lead animal in this one, so double bonus.

St. Martin's Day is no longer celebrated as regularly or enthusiastically but it was a fine feast day with an excuse for revelry in times past. Drunken revelry and other assorted foibles abounded, too, of course. This tale centers around that November feast day which gives it a specific and unusual time frame but one that fits the tale type well.

I admit this has never been a favorite tale type, but especially the tales about aging animals finding a final home as well as the message of the animals banding together, then surviving and thriving from their natural abilities pleases me no end. So hurrah for a deceptively simple tale!

Witches and Cats in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World

It was rather inevitable that witches would need to appear in a collection of cat tales, so there are several in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World. Witches and devils are almost always evil and need to be destroyed in these stories, so they are not the happiest of tales, but definitely an interesting subgenre of folklore.

From my introduction:

It would be negligent to not include tales of cats as witches’ animal manifestations, familiars or companions since that is one of the most prevalent associations for cats in folklore. While I collected many short anecdotes featuring cats and witches—or devils which are interchangeable with witches in many of these stories—finding full stories to share was challenging. I have enough material and notes for a short book devoted to the topic, but it’s not one that is as interesting to me and has been addressed in greater depth elsewhere. However, I wanted some representative tales of witches and cats to be included here and so chose some of the most interesting and fully developed stories from my research.

One of my favorite stories in the entire anthology appears in this section. It is “The Black Cat,” from North Carolina in the United States. It made me laugh outloud the first time I read it and I knew it would have a place somewhere in this collection. It’s short and not an easy read since it is written in a Southern USA dialect, but be sure not to miss it.

Many of the tales offered as witch stories do not have an ATU type but fall into a different cataloging system as Migratory Legend 3055: The Witch That Was Hurt.[1] In this legend type, a witch is injured while in the shape of an animal, often a cat or hare. Her secret identity is revealed when the corresponding injury is seen on her after she has resumed her human form. She is usually punished or even executed for her witchy activities. The injury, thankfully, is usually a serious one, not a simple scratch, but more on the level of a missing appendage.

[1] Migratory legends are another tale classification system developed by Reidar Thoralf Christiansen in The Migratory Legends: A Proposed List of Types with a Systematic Catalogue of the Norwegian Variants (1958).

The Witch tales in the collection are:

The Cats of San Lorenzo from Italy
San Miniato fra le Torre from Italy
How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain from Italy
Diana as Giving Beauty and Restoring Strength from Italy
The Cat-Hags of Gries from Tyrol (Italy & Austria)
The Green Lady: Norfolk from England
The Weaver’s Wife and the Witch from England
The Cat Witches from Wales
The Two Cat Witches from Wales
Macgillichallum of Razay from Scotland
The Witch of Laggan from Scotland
The Severed Hand from Norway
A Witch Burnt from Netherlands
The Witch’s Cat from Belgium
The Devil’s Cat from Germany
The Severed Hand from Germany
The Witch from Russia
The Lady Who Became a Cat from India
The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima from Japan
A Plantation Witch from United States
The Crow and Cat of Hopkinshill from United States
The Black Cat from United States
The Cat Who Wanted Shoes from United States
The Woman-Cat from United States

ATU 560: The Magic Ring in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World

ATU 560: The Magic Ring is the tale type that I had the least amount of experience with and consequently learned the most about during the research for Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World. For this reason, it became one of my favorite tale types offered in the book. This is also one of the rare tale types where I was able to find more English translations of Eastern versions than European. And there was sufficient difference between the variants to make them interesting, especially the Eastern Hemisphere ones.

From my introduction:

Another vast tale type that features a cat as a key player is ATU 560: The Magic Ring which is often conflated with ATU 561: Aladdin—the more recognized tale in popular culture—since there are not many distinguishing factors between these magic object stories. However, a cat usually appears in the tales that fit best into ATU 560: The Magic Ring.

There are hundreds of known Magic Ring stories and no single tale is considered the definitive tale. One of the earliest known versions can be found in Basile’s Il Pentamerone as the first diversion of the fourth day, often known as “The Rooster’s Stone” or “The Stone in the Cock’s Head.” However, this version does not feature a cat so it has not been included in this collection.

In these stories, a young man acquires a magic ring after he unselfishly rescues several animals from abuse or death by paying for them with his last coins. He rescues the three animals in a succession of events, a dog, a cat and a snake. The snake is a prince among his kind and provides the means of acquiring a magic ring (or other object) that ultimately provides riches to the young man through wish fulfillment. The man’s wealth impresses the king and gains him a princess for a wife. Eventually he reveals the power of the ring and it is stolen from him, often through his wife’s complicity. He loses everything, is imprisoned, and faces imminent death. The dog and the cat have remained faithful during his journey from rags to riches and so set out to recover the ring for him. The cat is the better mastermind but together the cat and dog restore the ring to their master, thanking him for sparing their lives. His wealth is restored and he lives happily ever after in the lifestyle he prefers, sometimes as a king and sometimes as a regular man, depending on the level of his wife’s complicity in his trials.

This tale appears around the world, but the majority of the variants offered in this collection come from India and other parts of Asia. It is a fun tale, one with which I was less acquainted before I began the work on this anthology, but it became a grand treasure hunt to find rare variants to share. This tale type is more gratifying than “Puss in Boots” since the hero usually demonstrates his worthiness for his elevation to a higher social level. The Chinese and other Eastern versions are of particular interest, since they offer the story as a pourquoi tale of why cats and dogs do not like each other.

The Magic Ring tales included in the collection are:

The Cat and Dog and the Talisman from Turkey
The Grateful Snake, Cat, and Dog and the Talisman from Turkey
The Snake, the Dog, and the Cat from Greece & Albania
Gigi and the Magic Ring from Italy
The Hind of the Golden Apple from Portugal
The Enchanted Watch from France
Three Years Without Wages from Norway
The Ring with Twelve Screws from Russia
The Enchanted Ring from Russia
Sharau from Russia
The Story of the Man Who Bought Three Pieces of Advice from Iran
The Clever Cat from North Africa
The Wonderful Ring from Nigeria
The Magic Ring of the Lord Solomon from India
The Merchant, the Princess and the Grateful Animals from India
The Prince and His Animal Friends from India
The Charmed Ring from India
The Wonderful Ring from India
Lita and His Animals from India
The Golden Beetle; or, Why the Dog Hates the Cat from China
Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies from China
Tokgabi’s Menagerie (Cats and Dogs) from Korea
Why Dogs Wag Their Tails from Philippines
Juan Manalaksan from Philippines
Juan the Poor, Who Became Juan the King from Philippines

ATU 402: The Animal Bride--The Cat Versions

So another small section--but one of my favorites--in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World offers Animal Brides.

Another famous folktale cat can be traced directly to the French salons and a specific author, “The White Cat,” by Madame la Comtesse d’Aulnoy. While her creation is literary and very long, it is part of a long, rich tradition of women who are rescued from living in animal form in folklore.

These tales can be typed as ATU 402: The Animal Bride. Several animal bride stories featuring enchanted cats are included in this collection. Most ATU 402 tales do not feature a cat; many feature an enchanted frog or mouse instead, but cats are more common than most other animals.

Animal bride stories can include several variations from other tale types but the overarching plot usually involves a third son who through service and various challenges breaks the enchantment of a princess and thus wins her hand in marriage. He usually doesn’t know that the animal he is serving is in fact a bewitched princess. His valor and worthiness are usually proven by the actions he takes despite his ignorance of the full situation. The final step in breaking the challenge often includes physical violence such as decapitation, mutilation or burning, an act he performs reluctantly after making an honorable promise to the enchanted creature.

More enchanted cats appear in other sections of the book, but those tales that fit most comfortably into the ATU 402 tale type are gathered into their own grouping.

It is interesting that women are so often enchanted cats when men rarely are. Here is a list of the Cat Bride tales found in the book:

• The Grave Prince and the Beneficent Cat from Tyrol (Italy & Austria)
• The White Cat from France
• The White Cat of Ecija from Spain
• Cucúlin from Ireland
• Peter Humbug and the White Cat from Denmark
• The Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat from Germany
• Silly Jura from Czech Republic
• The Cat Who Became a Queen from India

Dick Whittington's Cat

Although I could share more about Puss in Boots, I wanted to move on to other tales to be found in Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World. One of my favorite tale types from this book is ATU 1651: Dick Whittington’s Cat. It's such a simple tale but with a rich history that can be found in many cultures, primarily the seafaring ones for obvious reasons.

I cannot think of another animal whose usefulness to humanity is explored so well in folklore. Doesn't mean there isn't, but I've not run into it yet. The crux of this tale type centers around the much needed vermin controlling aspects of cats. They are essentially unknown and thus valuable to the cultures that don't know about them in these tales. There's a subtle humor to it, too, since so many societies with cats find themselves overburdened with a feline population at times, something you realize with a little thought while reading the tale. So an abundant, but skilled animal--one that is common to us--is extraordinary and bring riches. There is a wish fulfillment aspect to that--who wouldn't like to make their fortune with an easily acquired animal, one that is about to be destroyed due to its overpopulation at the beginning of some versions of the tale?

From my introduction:

After “Puss in Boots,” perhaps the second best known cat folktale is ATU 1651: Dick Whittington’s Cat. The story is not as well known in modern popular culture, but it has been widespread and casually referenced in previous centuries with a fascinating range of variations on the theme.

The story describes how an honest and humble man finds his fortune by either directly or indirectly introducing a cat to a distant land overrun by mice and rats. The citizens are so thrilled with the cat’s prowess in controlling the rodent infestation that they pay for the cat with a great fortune. The cat is not a character in the story, but it is a key element and ultimately provides for the hero’s blessed future simply by doing what it does naturally.

This tale, too, has some fascinating examples of early scholarship to share. The first is “Whittington and His Cat” by Thomas Keightley excerpted from Tales and Popular Fictions; Their Resemblance and Transmission from Country to Country (1834). The second is “Whittington and His Cat” by William Alexander Clouston excerpted from Popular Tales and Fictions: Their Migrations and Transformations (1887). These articles share in full text some of the earliest known versions of the tale which I did not repeat as individual tales in the section devoted to ATU 1651, so be aware that there are more ATU 1651 stories in this collection than are listed in the table of contents.

Both articles discuss the history of the tale, including its strange—and inaccurate—association with the very real Whittington, a political figure in 15th century London. How a tale with a long history and wide variety of versions became so closely associated with a real historical person is unknown, but it only adds to the charm and mystery of the usually short and straightforward story. It is also a much more comfortable story since no one is truly exploited or deceived, not even the cat, but a great fortune is achieved in a much more honest method.

Now Available: Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World

Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World (US Link) and Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World (UK Link) are now available for ordering on Amazon and Amazon UK. The titles will start populating at other booksellers in the coming days.

You can see the table of contents on my previous post at New Book: Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World.

The first question I am asked when I have mentioned this book in the last few years is, "Do you love cats? Why a cat book?"

Well, to be honest, no, I am not a cat lover although I love books and have worked as a librarian, stereotypical cat lover stuff. I am allergic to cats which has given me a very difficult relationship with them over the years. My husband has developed a severe allergy to them even worse than mine that will send him into a migraine if we aren't prepared to take preventative measures. So no cats in our home.

But that doesn't mean I don't love the folklore about cats. I've been studying and reading folklore for decades now and cats are a regular tried and true entity in many tales. I've been collecting stories in all sorts of categories for years. Honestly, I thought this book would be "easy" since I already had so many stories. But as I read and researched more, I kept adding tale types and other stories to the collection. I finally reached capacity and was only deleting good stories to make room for other ones. It was time to stop and share with the world. After searching through over 1,000 folklore, fairy tale, and cat books, I was done. The primary bibliography for the book has 150 sources. The results are diverse, fascinating and hopefully fun.

As I looked at other "cat books" of recent years, one of the concerns from readers in the reader reviews was animal cruelty and portrayal of cats. I can explain here that while there are a few examples of cats as victims in these stories, the vast majority of the tales focus on cats winning. The cats use cunning, flexibility, loyalty, and many other of their natural qualities to triumph in their stories. Conversely, they are rarely portrayed as evil either, even in the Witches and Cats stories. This book is a celebration of cats in all their glory with very few stories that will raise alarms.

So I hope you enjoy! On Monday, I will start sharing more in depth about the tales inside.

New Book: Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World

Hallelujah! By Monday, but probably much sooner, Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales From Around the World will be listed for ordering on Amazon. It will soon follow on other book seller sites. At the moment, the link is a dead one, but it could change at a moment's notice so I am inserting it.

One of the last items I read during my research was The Tiger in the House by Cal Van Vechten, a book published in 1920. I was quite amused, especially near the end of my journey into cat folklore, to read this:

There are so many folk-tales about cats that some enterprising young man of the future may fill a large book with these alone.

Ha! I may be a middle-aged woman--when did that happen?--but I've certainly filled a large book with cat tales alone. Well, a handful don't feature cats, but there are 271 entries in the book so there's plenty of cats within these pages.

Throughout December, I will be posting about the book with more in-depth posts about particular tales, finds, etc. but wanted to share the general book information in this first post.

From my introduction:

CAT folklore collections are not a new concept—there have been several excellent collections published over the years—but this is to my knowledge the most expansive collection by far to be compiled for publication. The average collection contains 15-30 tales within its pages. Puss in Boots and Other Cat Tales from Around the World offers over 250. While to some this may be considered a failure of good editing, the goal is to offer a wider range of tales featuring cats, and occasionally without cats, across cultures and themes. While it is far from comprehensive, the intent is to show many of the ways cats have been represented in world folklores.

This book is organized according to tale types and themes as well as countries of origin. First, we have several tales offered by their tale type, starting with the most famous folktale cat of all time, the titular “Puss in Boots,” and the tales that closely resemble that story. Other tale types with cats follow, including “Dick Wittington’s Cat,” Cat Brides, and “The Bremen Town Musicians.” Many other tale types are included in the More Cat Tales section. No attempt was made to tale type each story but when a common tale type was recognizable, it is noted in the tale’s introduction. All of these are also listed in an index of tale types in the end matter of this book.

Book description:

Whether domesticated or wild, cats have long attracted and repulsed humanity in countless cultures around the world. Folklore provides a view into the attitudes and beliefs surrounding cats through the centuries.

This collection gathers together examples of the earliest scholarship on cat folklore, compiling over 250 folktales, fables, and nursery rhymes about cats from around the world into one convenient anthology. Inside you’ll find variants of many fairy tales featuring cats, including:

• Puss in Boots (ATU 545B)
• Whittington and His Cat (ATU 1651)
• Cat Brides (ATU 402)
• The Bremen Town Musicians (ATU 130)
• The Magic Ring with Cat Helpers (ATU 560)
• Witches and Cats Lore

Dozens of additional tales about cats are presented with a wide range of themes from a variety of countries, too.

Whether you are a cat enthusiast or a student of folklore, this anthology offers a diverse array of tales that entertain and educate their readers, all gathered into one collection for the first time.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner
Acknowledgements
Notes About This Edition

ATU 545B: Puss in Boots

1 Puss in Boots: A Discussion of the Tale by W. R. S. Ralston 2
2 Puss in Boots: A Discussion of the Tale by Andrew Lang 16
3 How the Fox Wooed for the Miller the Daughter of the Pasha of Egypt Turkey 26
4 Puss in Boots Turkey 28
5 Costantino Fortunato Italy 31
6 Gagliuso (Taylor Translation) Italy 34
7 Gagliuso (Burton Translation) Italy 38
8 How the Beggar Boy Turned into Count Piro Italy 42
9 Don Joseph Pear Italy 47
10 Master Cat, or Puss in Boots, The (Samber) France 51
11 Master Cat, or Puss in Boots (Planche) France 55
12 Earl of Cattenborough, The England 59
13 Lord Peter Norway 63
14 Palace That Stood on Golden Pillars, The Sweden 67
15 Mighty Mikko Finland 77
16 Prince Csihán (Nettles) Hungary 85
17 Story of the Woman, Her Husband, and the Lion, The West Africa 92
18 Friendly Lion, and the Youth and His Wife, The Nigeria 94
19 Sultan Darai Tanzania 97
20 Story of a Gazelle, The India 124
21 Match-Making Jackal, The India 134
22 Clever Jackal, The India 140
23 Jogeshwar's Marriage India 142
24 Boroltai Ku Mongolia 146
25 Story of Juan and the Monkey, The Philippines 147
26 Masoy and the Ape Philippines 149
27 Monkey and Juan Pusong Tambi-tambi, The Philippines 152
28 Andres the Trapper Philippines 157
29 Domingo's Cat Brazil 163

ATU 1651: Whittington’s Cat

30 Whittington and His Cat: A Discussion of the Tale by Thomas Keightley 166
31 Whittington and His Cat: A Discussion of the Tale by W. A. Clouston 178
32 Cat, The Albania 185
33 Cats Who Made Their Master Rich, The Italy 186
34 Whittington and His Cat England 186
35 Cottager and His Cat, The Iceland 192
36 Honest Penny, The Norway 195
37 Three Brothers; or, the Cat, the Cock, and the Ladder, The France 198
38 Three Sons of Fortune, The Germany 204
39 Cat of Schilda, The Germany 207
40 Three Copecks, The Russia 209
41 Just Earnings Are Never Lost Serbia Serbia 212
42 Poor Man and His Three Sons, The Philippines 215

ATU 402: Cat Bride

43 Grave Prince and the Beneficent Cat, The Italy 218
44 White Cat, The France 229
45 White Cat of Ecija, The Spain 240
46 Cucúlin Ireland 243
47 Peter Humbug and the White Cat Denmark 252
48 Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat, The Germany 257
49 Silly Jura Czech Republic Czech Republic 261
50 Cat Who Became a Queen, The India 263

ATU 130: The Bremen Town Musicians

51 Benibaire Spain 268
52 Bull, the Tup, the Cock, and the Steg, The England 270
53 Jack and His Comrades Ireland 271
54 Story of the White Pet, The Scotland 276
55 Choristers of St. Gudule, The Belgium 280
56 Bremen Town Musicians, The Germany 284
57 Martin's Eve Austria 287
58 World's Reward, The South Africa 288
59 Monkey and the Crab, The Japan 290
60 Battle of the Ape and the Crab, The Japan 291
61 How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune: I United States 293
62 How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune: II United States 296
63 Dog, the Cat, the Ass, and the Cock, The United States 298

ATU 480: The Kind and Unkind Girls

64 Cats, The Greece 302
65 Little Convent of Cats, The Italy 304
66 Colony of Cats, The Italy 307
67 Teresina, Luisa, and the Bear Italy 312
68 Two Sisters, The Austria 313
69 Two Caskets, The (Thorpe) Sweden 316
70 Two Caskets, The (Lang) Sweden 328
71 Good Child and the Bad, The Liberia 335
72 Juanita, Marianita, the Cat and the Bear North America 337

ATU 560: The Magic Ring

73 Cat and Dog and the Talisman, The Turkey 342
74 Grateful Snake, Cat, and Dog and the Talisman, The Turkey 344
75 Snake, the Dog, and the Cat, The Greece 348
76 Gigi and the Magic Ring Italy 351
77 Hind of the Golden Apple, The Portugal 357
78 Enchanted Watch, The France 360
79 Three Years Without Wages Norway 363
80 Ring with Twelve Screws, The Russia 370
81 Enchanted Ring, The Russia 376
82 Sharau Russia 385
83 Story of the Man Who Bought Three Pieces of Advice, The Iran 389
84 Clever Cat, The Africa 396
85 Wonderful Ring, The (Nigeria) Nigeria 404
86 Magic Ring of the Lord Solomon, The India 410
87 Merchant, the Princess and the Grateful Animals, The India 412
88 Prince and His Animal Friends, The India 416
89 Charmed Ring, The India 418
90 Wonderful Ring, The (India) India 425
91 Lita and His Animals India 430
92 Golden Beetle; or, Why the Dog Hates the Cat, The China 436
93 Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies China 444
94 Tokgabi's Menagerie (Cats and Dogs) Korea 445
95 Why Dogs Wag Their Tails Philippines 448
96 Juan Manalaksan Philippines 450
97 Juan the Poor, Who Became Juan the King Philippines 452

Witches and Cats

98 Cats of San Lorenzo, The Italy 462
99 San Miniato fra le Torre Italy 464
100 How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain Italy 465
101 Diana as Giving Beauty and Restoring Strength Italy 467
102 Cat-Hags of Gries, The Italy 470
103 Green Lady: Norfolk, The England 471
104 Weaver's Wife and the Witch, The England 472
105 Cat Witches, The Wales 473
106 Two Cat Witches, The Wales 475
107 Macgillichallum of Razay Scotland 477
108 Witch of Laggan, The Scotland 479
109 Severed Hand, The (Norway) Norway 483
110 Witch Burnt, A Netherlands 484
111 Witch's Cat, The Belgium 485
112 Devil's Cat, The Germany 488
113 Severed Hand, The (Germany) Germany 489
114 Witch, The Russia 490
115 Lady Who Became a Cat, The India 493
116 Vampire Cat of Nabeshima, The Japan 495
117 Plantation Witch, A States 500
118 Crow and Cat of Hopkinshill, The States 503
119 Black Cat, The United States 504
120 Cat Who Wanted Shoes, The States 505
121 Woman-Cat, The States 505

More Cat Tales

122 Cat, The Turkey 508
123 Prophet and the Cat, The Turkey 510
124 Countess's Cat, The Italy 511
125 Why Cats and Dogs Always Quarrel Italy 512
126 Cat and the Mouse, The (Italy) Italy 513
127 Feast Day, A Italy 515
128 Giant Jordan, The Italy 517
129 Story of a Cat's Tail, The Portugal 520
130 Mally Dixon England 522
131 Dildrum, King of the Cats England 523
132 Johnny Reed's Cat England 523
133 King o' the Cats, The England 526
134 Spectral Cat, The England 528
135 Mouse and Mouser England 533
136 Cat and the Mouse, The (England) England 535
137 Owney and Owney-na-peak Ireland 536
138 Cat of the Carman's Stage, The Ireland 546
139 Enchanted Cat of Bantry, The Ireland 547
140 Concerning Cats Ireland 549
141 King of the Cats, The (Ireland) Ireland 551
142 Demon Cat, The Ireland 552
143 Cat Nature Ireland 553
144 Seanchan the Bard and the King of the Cats Ireland 556
145 King Arthur and the Cat Ireland 560
146 Murroghoo-more and Murroghoo-beg Ireland 562
147 Little White Cat, The Ireland 566
148 Black Cat, The Scotland 575
149 King of the Cats, The (Scotland) Scotland 576
150 Cattie Sits in the Kiln-Ring Spinning, The Scotland 577
151 Widow and Her Daughters, The Scotland 580
152 Poor Woman and Her Three Daughters, The Scotland 584
153 Kisa the Cat Iceland 585
154 Greedy Cat, The Norway 589
155 Mirri, the Cat Finland Finland 593
156 Troll Turned Cat, The Denmark 595
157 Cat and the Cradle, The Netherlands 596
158 Why Cats Always Wash after Eating Belgium 600
159 Fox and the Cat, The (Germany) Germany 601
160 Cat and Mouse in Partnership Germany 602
161 Lazy Cat, The Hungary 605
162 Enchanted Cat, The Hungary 607
163 Why the Dog and Cat and the Cat and Mouse Are Enemies Estonia 612
164 Three Sisters, The Estonia 613
165 Courageous Barn-Keeper, The Estonia 614
166 Story of the Dog, the Cat and the Mouse, The Romania 621
167 Story of Adam and Eve and the Devil, The Romania 623
168 Story of the Cat, the Mouse and Noah, The Romania 624
169 Town Mouse and the Field Mouse, The Romania 625
170 Enchanted City, The Ukraine) 626
171 Fox and the Cat, The (Ukraine) Ukraine 630
172 Cat, the Cock, and the Fox, The Ukraine 633
173 Seven Simeons, Full Brothers, The Russia 635
174 Cat Who Became Head-Forester, The Russia 640
175 Story of the Tom-Cat and the Cock Russia 643
176 Bear, the Dog, and the Cat, The Russia 648
177 Ideas and Superstitions About Cats in the Holy Land Holy Land 651
178 Cat as Sham Holy Man, The Palestine 653
179 Why Does the Cat Eat Mice More than Any Other Creeping Thing? Hebrew 655
180 Why Does the Dog Fight the Cat? Hebrew 656
181 Why Is It that the Dog Recognises His Master and the Cat Does Not? Hebrew 658
182 Why Is There a Seam in the Mouth of the Mouse? Hebrew 658
183 Quarrel of the Cat and Dog, The Jewish 659
184 Cat and the Mouse, The (Iran) Iran 663
185 Story of an Ambitious Cat Iran 668
186 Why the Cat Kills Rats Nigeria 668
187 How a Hunter Obtained Money from His Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush Cat, and Cock, and How He Got Out of Repaying Them Nigeria 669
188 Cat's Tail, The Kenya 671
189 Paka the Cat Kenya 673
190 Cat and the Parrot, The India 675
191 Cat and the Sparrows, The India 679
192 Punishment Visited upon the Wrong Persons India 681
193 Hypocritical Cat, The (India) India 682
194 Otters and the Cat, The India 683
195 Barru Jataka: The Greedy and Angry Cats, The India 686
196 Mouse and the Farmer, The India 687
197 Lean Cat and the Fat Cat, The India 689
198 How the Cat Came to Live with Man India 692
199 Story of a Cat, a Mouse, a Lizard and an Owl, The India 693
200 Tiger and the Rats, The India 698
201 Tiger and the Cat, The India 699
202 Tigers and the Cat, The India 700
203 How Raja Rasâlu Played Chaupur with King Sarkap India 701
204 Princess and the Cat, The India 705
205 Great Rat, The China 707
206 Two Cats, The China 707
207 Hypocritical Cat, The (China) China 710
208 Cat and the Mice, The (China) China 711
209 Boy Who Drew Cats, The Japan 713
210 Shippeitaro Japan 716
211 Story of the Faithful Cat, The Japan 718
212 Cat's Elopement, The Japan 719
213 Lion and the Cat, The North America 721
214 Secret Room, The United States 726
215 Why the Cat Always Falls Upon Her Feet Unknown 728
216 Cat and the Mice, The (Aesop) Aesop 732

Fables

217 Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow, The Aesop 732
218 Parrot and the Cat, The Aesop 733
219 Cat and the Cock, The Aesop 734
220 Venus and the Cat Aesop 734
221 Cat-Maiden, The Aesop 735
222 Belling the Cat Fable 736
223 Fox and the Cat, The (Fable) Fable 737
224 Cat and the Birds, The Aesop 738
225 Council Held by the Rats, The La Fontaine Fable 738
226 Cat and the Thrush, The La Fontaine Fable 740
227 Dog and Cat, The La Fontaine Fable 741
228 Cat Metamorphosed into a Woman, The La Fontaine Fable 742
229 Eagle, the Wild Sow, and the Cat, The La Fontaine Fable 743
230 Cat and the Old Rat, The La Fontaine Fable 745
231 Cat, the Weasel, and the Young Rabbit, The La Fontaine Fable 747
232 Cat and the Rat, The La Fontaine Fable 748
233 Monkey and the Cat, The La Fontaine Fable 750
234 Cat and the Fox, The La Fontaine Fable 752
235 Cat and the Two Sparrows, The La Fontaine Fable 753
236 League of the Rats, The La Fontaine Fable 754
237 Quarrel of the Dogs and Cats, and that of the Cats and Mice, The La Fontaine Fable 756
238 Cockerel, the Cat, and the Young Mouse, The La Fontaine Fable 758
239 Old Cat and the Young Mouse, The La Fontaine Fable 759
240 Cook and the Cat, The Krylov 761
241 Pike and the Cat, The Krylov 762
242 Wolf and the Cat, The Krylov 763
243 Cat and the Nightingale, The Krylov 764

Nursery Rhymes

244 Crooked Sixpence, The Nursery Rhyme 766
245 Hey! Diddle, Diddle Nursery Rhyme 766
246 Cat Came Fiddling Out of a Barn, A Nursery Rhyme 767
247 Pussy Sits Behind the Fire Nursery Rhyme 768
248 Pussy Sat by the Fire-side Nursery Rhyme 768
249 Pussey Cat Sits by the Fire Nursery Rhyme 769
250 Cat Sat Asleep by the Side of the Fire, The Nursery Rhyme 769
251 Feedum, Fiddledum Fee Nursery Rhyme 770
252 Cat Ran Up the Plum-Tree, The Nursery Rhyme 770
253 As Titty Mouse Sat in the Witty to Spin Nursery Rhyme 771
254 Some Little Mice Sat in a Barn to Spin Nursery Rhyme 771
255 As I Was Going to St. Ives Nursery Rhyme 772
256 Kilkenny Cats, The Nursery Rhyme 772
257 My Father Left Me Three Acres of Land Nursery Rhyme 773
258 Ding Dong Bell Nursery Rhyme 774
259 Pussicat, Wussicat, with a White Foot Nursery Rhyme 775
260 Pussy Cat Mole Nursery Rhyme 775
261 I Like Little Pussy, Her Coat Is So Warm Nursery Rhyme 775
262 Ride, Baby, Ride Nursery Rhyme 776
263 Ride Away, Ride Away Nursery Rhyme 776
264 Highty Cock O! Nursery Rhyme 777
265 Sing, Sing, What Shall I Sing? Nursery Rhyme 777
266 Dame Trot and Her Cat Nursery Rhyme 778
267 Pussy Cat Eat the Dumplings Nursery Rhyme 778
268 Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a Tree Nursery Rhyme 779
269 ABC Nursery Rhyme 779
270 Pussy-Cat, Pussy-Cat, Where Have You Been? Nursery Rhyme 780
271 I Have Been to Market, My Lady, My Lady Nursery Rhyme 780

Primary Bibliography
Secondary Bibliography
Tale Type Index
Index