Storytelling Week 5: The Kitten's Big Responsibility

Storytelling Week 5: The Kitten’s Big Responsibility

“I’m so excited!” the kitten thought to herself.  

You see, today was a big day for the kitten.

The kitten’s mom worked for a lion.  Her job was to scare away the mice at night.  The mice had a tendency to steal leftover food from the lion’s mouth while he was sleeping, which would disturb his sleep patterns and make him very groggy the next day. The cat kept the mice away and worked her way up to a position of power and became a very respected member in the animal community.

Tonight, however, the cat was going away for personal business and asked the kitten to take over watch.  The cat would only be gone for the day, but without someone to watch the mice, things would get out of hand. Keeping the lion happy was the number one priority! The kitten was ecstatic at the chance to work the job.  Not only did the kitten love scaring mice, but she also wanted to prove to her mom how great of a worker she was.

That night, while she was on watch, the kitten had a great idea!

“What if I show my mom how hardworking I am by killing the mice! Then mom’s work won’t be as hard when she comes back!”

The kitten was so proud of herself for coming up with the plan. She just knew she would be praised by her mom, and maybe even by the lion himself! With her quick kitten-like reflexes, she was the perfect candidate for this job!

The lion was snoring peacefully as the kitten got to work.  She was killing mice left and right, silently creeping behind shrubs and trees, pouncing at the right moment! The mice didn’t know what hit them.  They were dropping like flies! They had never known a cat to kill them, only scare them, so they weren’t fearful for their lives until it was too late. By the end of the night, there were no more live mice left.

(Kitten Eating a Mouse)

By morning, the kitten had produced a large pile dead mice for her mother to see.  When her mother got there, she was appalled by what she saw.  She reprimanded her kitten for killing all of the mice, for she knew she would no longer have a job.  Realizing that she had never specifically told the kitten to not kill the mice, she accepted the blame.

That day, realizing the cat’s job was unnecessary now, the lion fired the cat.

The kitten felt horrible, but at least now she had more time with her mom! The cat and the kitten went on their way to find work in a new village, for they were no longer needed in this one.  

Author’s Note:  This story comes from the Tales of a Parrot unit, specifically the story, The Old Lion and the Cat.  The original story was very similar to mine. The difference in the original version and my version is that in the original version the kitten did not have its own point of view I decided to give the kitten a voice of its own and explain her side of the situation. I really like giving a voice to characters that originally do not have one in the stories.
I have cats of my own, and though cats can be jerks sometimes, I know a lot of the times when they ruin things it’s innocent.  I thought the kitten’s mess-up was innocent as well, so I wrote about it!

I also think seeing both sides of a story is really important in every day situations. I think a lot of the time when people mess up it is purely by accident or from a misunderstanding. I know I keep myself calmer when I think about this, and it's easier to let things go. Hopefully this story helps you all think about all sides of a situation, which will hopefully result in less conflict!

Bibliography: From the book, The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot by Ziya’al-Din Nakhshabi (1801)  

Extra Reading Diary: Ryder's Panchatantra

Extra Reading Diary: Ryder's Panchatantra

(Stories from the Panchatantra)

Introduction:

I love that the king actually cares about intelligence.  Far too often it seems like the main characters in stories are more concerned with bravery or bron versus intelligence.

I want to go to a six month program that makes me one of the most intelligent people on Earth. So jealous. Where can I find and memorize those five books?

Numskull and the Rabbit:
I love that the lion was defeated by his own reflection.

The Plover Who Fought the Ocean:

The poor turtle… I think it’s interesting that not only did he fall to his death, but he got eaten as well.  for extra effect I assume.

Forethought, Ready-wit, and Fatalist:

While reading this I couldn’t help but think of the scene in Finding Nemo where they get caught in the net.

The bird is almost as dumb as Numbskull if he thinks he can fight the ocean.  Also, if the girl bird was so sure her eggs would get eashed away, then why did she put them there anyways? I feel like they could have test trialed with pebbles or something.  

The Duel Between the Elephant and the Sparrow:

This story kind of reminded me of how bad the mental health system is in the world.  The elephant had spring fever, so is it really his fault that he killed the babies?  It was on accident after all, and he couldn’t have changed his spring fever even if he had wanted to. It’s sad, and I believe the elephant was misunderstood.

The Lion and the Ram:

Oh my goodness.  I can’t believe they got the eggs back from the ocean.  Well then, maybe I’m worse than Numbskull for not believing it could happen in a work of fiction!

Reading Diary B: Tales of a Parrot

Reading Diary B: Tales of a Parrot

(Parrot)

Of a King and His Sons:  I like how the wives of the snake and frog have to tell their men to go show gratitude for what the prince did for them.  Also, how big of a piece of flesh did the prince have to give up to substitute a frog? That seems kind of ridiculous.  I don’t think he would actually be able to survive that without getting an infection or something.  What a strange story.

The Merchant’s Daughter:  Oh my goodness! This is one of the stories from Twenty-Two Goblins! That’s awesome! Except it doesn’t have the part where she was married to one of the other men in the King’s service. Also, the reasoning for how the King died is different as well.  Still, it’s really cool that the two met up!

The Nobleman Who Concealed a Snake in His Sleeve: “It is not right to do good to every person.” I don’t know how I feel about this quote.  It’s an interesting one, for sure.

A King Falls in Love and the End of Khojisteh:  Even if it had worked out, bringing the wife’s son into her palace isn’t the best idea.  It would be ridiculously hard to pretend that the boy wasn’t her son.  That’s awesome that the king wasn’t upset with her and actually embraced the boy.  Why would she be ashamed if she had had the boy from her previous marriage? Shouldn’t the king have already known that?

I hate that there isn’t much detail in the ending.  The husband killed Khojisteh.  You would think that the ending would deserve a little more details.

Reading Diary A: Tales of a Parrot

Reading Diary A: Tales of a Parrot

(Khojisteh and the Parrot)

Khojisteh and the Parrot: I think it’s kind of ridiculous how fast Khojisteh fell in love with another man while her husband, someone who she had loved strongly, was away.  Her husband did nothing wrong to her, he just left for business.  That sucks for him.  Also, oh my goodness is she violent.  She killed the bird like it was nothing.  How terrifying.

The Goldsmith, the Carpenter, the Taylor, and the Hermit:  It’s smart of the parrot to try and keep the wife there with stories.  However, how long do these stories last to keep her all night? goodness.  

I love that his stories have lessons overall.  The parrot seems smart enough to be able to escape and find a new home.  I’m pretty sure that’s what I would do.

The Old Lion and the Cat:

The mice are very brave to pick food out of a lion’s teeth, even if he is old and decrepit.

I love that the cat doesn’t kill the mice, that way her job is always necessary to the lion.  Cats are awesome and obviously intelligent.  (Cats rule, dogs drool.)

Dang, the cat should have told the kitten to not kill the mice.  I think I’m going to write my storytelling over this!

Besheer and a Woman Named Chunder:   This woman is not bright.

Chunder is an awesome name.  I think I’m going to name my next cat Chunder.

I like the stories, but it’s getting kind of repetitive. All of the stories the parrot tells are practically the same story with the same lesson, but in a slightly different way.