Storytelling. The cat that walked by himself and other stories

The three spinners

There was once a girl who was so idle and lazy that she would do nothing but sit in the sunshine all day. She would not bake, she would not brew, she would not spin, she would not sew. One morning her mother lost patience with her entirely and gave her a good beating. The girl cried out until she could be heard even into the street.

Now it so chanced the queen of the country was driving by at that time, and she heard the cries. She wished to find out what the trouble was, so she stopped her coach and entered the house. She went through one room after another, and presently she came to where the girl and her mother were.

“What is all this noise?” she asked. “Why is your daughter crying out?”

The mother was ashamed to confess what a lazy girl she had for a daughter, so she told the queen what was not true.

“Oh, your majesty,” cried she, “this girl is the worry of my life. She will do nothing but spin all day, and I have spent all my money buying flax for her. This morning she asked me for more, but I have no money left to buy it. It was because of that she began to cry, as you heard.”

The Queen was very much surprised. “This girl of yours must be a very fine spinner,” she said. “You must bring her to the palace, for there is nothing I love better than spinning. Bring her to-morrow, and if she is as wonderful a spinner as I suspect, she shall be to me as my own daughter, and shall have my eldest son as a husband.”

When the girl heard she was to go to the palace and spin she was terrified. She had never spun a thread in her life, and she feared that when the Queen found this out she would be angry and would have her punished. However, she dared say nothing.

The next day she and her mother went to the palace, and the Queen received them kindly. The mother was sent home again, but the daughter was taken to a tower where there were three great rooms all filled with flax.

“See,” said the Queen. “Here is enough flax to satisfy you for awhile at least. When you have spun this you shall marry my son, and after that you shall have all the flax you want. Now you may begin, and to-morrow I will come to see how much you have done.”

So saying the Queen went away, closing the door behind her.

No sooner was the girl alone than she burst into tears. Not if she lived a hundred years could she spin all that flax. She sat and cried and cried and cried.

The next morning the Queen came back to see how much she had done. She was very much surprised to find the flax untouched, and the girl sitting there with idle hands.

“How is this?” she asked. “Why are you not at your spinning?”

The girl began to make excuses.

“I was so sad at being parted from my mother that I could do nothing but sit and weep.”

“I see you have a tender heart,” said the Queen. “But to-morrow you must begin to work. When I come again, I shall expect to see a whole roomful done.”

After she had gone, the girl began to weep again. She did not know what was to become of her.

Suddenly the door opened, and three ugly old women slipped into the room. The first had a splayfoot. The second had a lip that hung down on her chin. The third had a hideous broad thumb.

The girl looked at them with fear and wonder. “Who are you?” she asked.

The one with the splayfoot answered. “We are three spinners. We know why you are weeping, and we have come to help you, but before we help you, you must promise us one thing: that is that when you are married to the Prince, we may come to your wedding feast, that you will let us sit at your table, and that you will call us your aunts.”

“Yes, yes; I will, I will,” cried the girl. She was ready to promise anything if they would only help her.

At once the splayfoot sat down at the wheel and began to spin and tread. She with the hanging lip moistened the thread, and the woman with the broad thumb pressed and twisted it. They worked so fast that the thread flowed on like a swift stream. Before the next evening, they had finished the whole roomful of flax.

When the Queen came again she was delighted to find so much done. “To-morrow,” said she, “you shall begin in the second room.”

The next day the girl was taken into the second room, and it was larger than the first and was also full of flax.

Scarcely had the Queen left her when the door was pushed open, and the three old women came into the room.

“Remember your promise,” said they.

“I remember,” answered the girl.

The old women then took their places and began to spin. Before the next evening, they had finished all the flax that was in the room.

When the Queen came to look at what had been done, she was filled with wonder. Not only had all the flax in the room been spun, but she had never seen such smooth and even threads.

“To-morrow,” said she, “you shall spin the flax that is in the third room, and the day after you shall be married to my son.”

The third day all happened just as it had before. The girl was taken to the third room and it was even larger than the others. Scarcely had she been left alone when the three old women opened the door and came in.

“Remember your promise,” said they.

“I will remember,” answered the girl.

The old women took their places, and before night all the flax was spun. Then they rose. “To-morrow will be your wedding day, and we will be at the feast. If you keep your word to us, all will go well with you, but if you forget it, misfortune will surely come upon you.” Then they disappeared through the door as they had come, the eldest first.

When the Queen came that evening she was even more delighted than before. Never had she seen such thread, so smooth it was and even.

The girl was led down from the tower and dressed in silks and velvets and jewels, and when thus dressed she was so beautiful that the Prince was filled with love and joy at the sight of her. The next day they were married, and a grand feast was spread. To this feast all the noblest in the land were invited.

The bride sat beside her husband, and he could look at no one else, she was so beautiful.

Just as the feast was about to begin the door opened and the three old women who had spun the flax came in.

The Prince looked at them wonderingly. Never had he seen such hideous, ugly creatures before. “Who are these?” he asked of the girl.

“These,” said she, “are my three old aunts, and I have promised they shall sit at the table with us, for they have been so kind to me that no one could be kinder.”

The girl then rose, and went to meet the old women. “Welcome, my aunts,” she said, and led them to the table. The Prince loved the girl so dearly that all she did seemed right to him. He commanded that places should be put for the old women, and they sat at the table with him and his bride.

They were so hideous, however, that the Prince could not keep his eyes off them. At length he said to the eldest, “Forgive me, good mother, but why is your foot so broad?”

“From treading the thread, my son, from treading the thread,” she answered.

The Prince wondered; he turned to the second old woman. “And you, good mother,” he said, “why does your lip hang down?”

“From wetting the thread,” she answered. “From wetting the thread.”

The Prince was frightened. He spoke to the third old woman. “And you, why is your thumb so broad, if I may ask it?”

“From pressing and twisting,” she answered. “From pressing and twisting.”

The Prince turned pale. “If this is what comes of spinning,” said he, “never shall my bride touch the flax again.”

And so it was. Never was the girl allowed even to look at a spinning wheel again; and that did not trouble her, as you may guess.

As for the old women, they disappeared as soon as the feast was over, and no one saw them again, but the bride lived happy forever after.

The Cat that walked by himself

HEAR and attend and listen; for this befell and behappened and became and was, o my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The Dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild – as wild as wild could be – and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.

Of course, the Man was wild too. He was dreadfully wild. He didn’t even begin to be tame till he met the Woman, and she told him that she did not like living in his wild ways. She picked out a nice dry Cave, instead of a heap of wet leaves, to lie down in; and she strewed clean sand on the floor; and she lit a nice fire of wood at the back of the Cave; and she hung a dried wild-horse skin, tail-down, across the opening of the Cave; and she said, ‘‘Wipe you feet, dear, when you come in, and now we’ll keep house.’’

That night, Best Beloved, they ate wild sheep roasted on the hot stones, and flavoured with wild garlic and wild pepper; and wild duck stuffed with wild rice and wild fenugreek and wild coriander; and marrow-bones of wild oxen; and wild cherries, and wild grenadillas. Then the Man went to sleep in front of the fire ever so happy; but the Woman sat up, combing her hair. She took the bone of the shoulder of mutton – the big fat blade-bone – and she looked at the wonderful marks on it, and she threw more wood on the fire, and she made a Magic. She made the First Singing Magic in the world.

Out in the Wet Wild Woods all the wild animals gathered together where they could see the light of the fire a long way off, and they wondered what it meant.

Then Wild Horse stamped with his wild foot and said, ‘‘O my Friends and O my Enemies, why have the Man and the Woman made that great light in that great Cave, and what harm will it do us?’’

Wild Dog lifted up his wild nose and smelled the smell of roast mutton, and said, ‘‘I will go up and see and look, and say; for I think it is good. Cat, come with me.’’

‘‘Nenni!’’ said the Cat. ‘‘I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. I will not come.’’

‘‘Then we can never be friends again,’’ said Wild Dog, and he trotted off to the Cave. But when he had gone a little way the Cat said to himself, ‘‘All places are alike to me. Why should I not go too and see and look and come away at my own liking.’’ So he slipped after Wild Dog softly, very softly, and hid himself where he could hear everything.

When Wild Dog reached the mouth of the Cave he lifted up the dried horse-skin with his nose and sniffed the beautiful smell of the roast mutton, and the Woman, looking at the blade-bone, heard him, and laughed, and said, ‘Here comes the first. Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, what do you want?’

Wild Dog said, ‘‘O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy, what is this that smells so good in the Wild Woods?’’

Then the Woman picked up a roasted mutton-bone and threw it to Wild Dog, and said, ‘‘Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, taste and try.’’ Wild Dog gnawed the bone, and it was more delicious than anything he had ever tasted, and he said, ‘‘O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy, give me another.’’

The Woman said, ‘‘Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, help my Man to hunt through the day and guard this Cave at night, and I will give you as many roast bones as you need.’’

‘‘Ah!’’ said the Cat, listening. ‘‘This is a very wise Woman, but she is not so wise as I am.’’

Wild Dog crawled into the Cave and laid his head on the Woman’s lap, and said, ‘‘O my Friend and Wife of my Friend, I will help Your Man to hunt through the day, and at night I will guard your Cave.’’

‘‘Ah!’’ said the Cat, listening. ‘That is a very foolish Dog.’’ And he went back through the Wet Wild Woods waving his wild tail, and walking by his wild lone. But he never told anybody.

When the Man waked up he said, ‘‘What is Wild Dog doing here?’’ And the Woman said, ‘‘His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting.’’

Next night the Woman cut great green armfuls of fresh grass from the water-meadows, and dried it before the fire, so that it smelt like new-mown hay, and she sat at the mouth of the Cave and plaited a halter out of horse-hide, and she looked at the shoulder of mutton-bone – at the big broad blade-bone – and she made a Magic. She made the Second Singing Magic in the world.

Out in the Wild Woods all the wild animals wondered what had happened to Wild Dog, and at last Wild Horse stamped with his foot and said, ‘‘I will go and see and say why Wild Dog has not returned. Cat, come with me.’’

‘‘Nenni!’’ said the Cat. ‘‘I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. I will not come.’’ But all the same he followed Wild Horse softly, very softly, and hid himself where he could hear everything.

When the Woman heard Wild Horse tripping and stumbling on his long mane, she laughed and said, ‘‘Here comes the second. Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods what do you want?’’

Wild Horse said, ‘‘O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy, where is Wild Dog?’’

The Woman laughed, and picked up the blade-bone and looked at it, and said, ‘‘Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, you did not come here for Wild Dog, but for the sake of this good grass.’’

And Wild Horse, tripping and stumbling on his long mane, said, ‘That is true; give it me to eat.’

The Woman said, ‘‘Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, bend your wild head and wear what I give you, and you shall eat the wonderful grass three times a day.’’

‘‘Ah,’’ said the Cat, listening, ‘‘this is a clever Woman, but she is not so clever as I am.’’ Wild Horse bent his wild head, and the Woman slipped the plaited hide halter over it, and Wild Horse breathed on the Woman’s feet and said, ‘‘O my Mistress, and Wife of my Master, I will be your servant for the sake of the wonderful grass.’’

‘‘Ah,’’ said the Cat, listening, ‘‘that is a very foolish Horse.’’ And he went back through the Wet Wild Woods, waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone. But he never told anybody.

When the Man and the Dog came back from hunting, the Man said, ‘‘What is Wild Horse doing here?’’ And the Woman said, ‘‘His name is not Wild Horse any more, but the First Servant, because he will carry us from place to place for always and always and always. Ride on his back when you go hunting.’’

Next day, holding her wild head high that her wild horns should not catch in the wild trees, Wild Cow came up to the Cave, and the Cat followed, and hid himself just the same as before; and everything happened just the same as before; and the Cat said the same things as before, and when Wild Cow had promised to give her milk to the Woman every day in exchange for the wonderful grass, the Cat went back through the Wet Wild Woods waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone, just the same as before. But he never told anybody. And when the Man and the Horse and the Dog came home from hunting and asked the same questions same as before, the Woman said, ‘‘Her name is not Wild Cow any more, but the Giver of Good Food. She will give us the warm white milk for always and always and always, and I will take care of her while you and the First Friend and the First Servant go hunting.’’

Next day the Cat waited to see if any other Wild thing would go up to the Cave, but no one moved in the Wet Wild Woods, so the Cat walked there by himself; and he saw the Woman milking the Cow, and he saw the light of the fire in the Cave, and he smelt the smell of the warm white milk.

Cat said, ‘‘O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy, where did Wild Cow go?’’

The Woman laughed and said, ‘‘Wild Thing out of the Wild Woods, go back to the Woods again, for I have braided up my hair, and I have put away the magic blade-bone, and we have no more need of either friends or servants in our Cave.’’

Cat said, ‘‘I am not a friend, and I am not a servant. I am the Cat who walks by himself, and I wish to come into your cave.’’

Woman said, ‘‘Then why did you not come with First Friend on the first night?’’

Cat grew very angry and said, ‘‘Has Wild Dog told tales of me?’’

Then the Woman laughed and said, ‘‘You are the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to you. Your are neither a friend nor a servant. You have said it yourself. Go away and walk by yourself in all places alike.’’

Then Cat pretended to be sorry and said, ‘‘Must I never come into the Cave? Must I never sit by the warm fire? Must I never drink the warm white milk? You are very wise and very beautiful. You should not be cruel even to a Cat.’’

Woman said, ‘‘I knew I was wise, but I did not know I was beautiful. So I will make a bargain with you. If ever I say one word in your praise you may come into the Cave.’’

‘‘And if you say two words in my praise?’’ said the Cat.

‘‘I never shall,’’ said the Woman, ‘‘but if I say two words in your praise, you may sit by the fire in the Cave.’’

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