The Cat’s Wedding

It’s easier to change how you look than to hide who you are.

A playful cat. Aesop’s tale is a cautionary one, about recognising that deeds may be more revealing than appearances. ‘What did I do wrong?’ the young Sheriff asks plaintively in The Tin Star (1957), after nearly getting shot in a gunfight. ‘Everything’ replies his reluctant mentor, Morg. ‘You listened to what he was saying instead of seeing what he was doing.’

Introduction

Originally, this story was about a weasel, an animal which the ancient Greeks kept for pest control in the way we keep cats. Modern Greek versions of this story make it a story about a cat, as did Victorian storyteller Joseph Jacobs.

based on a fable by Aesop of Samos

ONCE there was a cat who fell in love with a handsome young man, and was tormented by her love, for which she could find no relief. So she called upon the goddess Aphrodite, begging her to turn her into a woman.

Aphrodite felt sorry for the lovesick cat, and did indeed turn her into a very lovely young woman. Naturally, the young man immediately fell in love with her, and they were soon married.

Aphrodite, however, was curious to know just how deep the transformation went, so in the middle of the wedding breakfast the goddess let loose a mouse among the guests.

The lovely bride spied it, and quick as a flash dived after the mouse, pounced on it, and caught it. When the goddess saw that, she instantly turned the blushing bride back into a cat.

And the moral of that is, that however much you change your appearance, your character will reveal who you are.

based on a fable by Aesop of Samos

Based on Chambry and Babrius.

Précis

A cat that had fallen in love with her owner was allowed by Aphrodite to take the form of a beautiful woman. But to satisfy her curiosity, the goddess let a mouse go at the wedding breakfast. When the bride chased after it, Aphrodite concluded she was right: it is our actions that reveal who we really are.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why did the cat want to be turned into a woman?

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

A woman married a man. She used to be his cat. He did not know.

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