No Year of the Cat (3 page)

“We will remember,” said the advisors, bowing in unison.

Amid great snorting, barking, baa-ing, and crowing, the name of each animal was read from the scroll. Just as the noise died down, a wet, scraggly Cat jumped in front of the emperor. “What is my number?” demanded Cat.

“I am sorry, most sorry,” said the emperor. “You are too late.”

“Too late!” she screamed. She danced in fury. She pled. But it was in vain. Then, turning, she lunged for Rat. Rat fled, barely escaping her sharp claws.

In the years that followed, Cat never forgave. And she never forgot. And that is why, to this day, she stalks her enemy, determined to repay Rat's treachery.

And so it is, that among the auspicious years that people recall, there is no Year of the Cat.

 

 

Author's Note

The Chinese calendar is based on a cycle of twelve years. Each year is named for an animal. When the cycle is completed, the names start again in the same order.

The author found this story while on a visit to Taiwan. It was in a book entitled
Traditional Chinese Folktales
by Yin-lien C. Chin, Yetta S. Center, and Mildred Ross, published by M. E. Sharpe (1989). Stories in that book had been translated from the Chinese. Some of them date from the Yuan Dynasty in the thirteenth century.

The basic story explaining why there is no Year of the Cat is a familiar one in the Chinese culture, but the author has added many details in this version.