The Boy Who Drew Cats
Encyclopedia
"The Boy Who Drew Cats" is a Japanese fairy tale
collected by Lafcadio Hearn
in Japanese Fairy Tales.
was too small and weak, and spent all his time drawing cats instead of doing his chores. So, they took him to the temple to become a priest. He learned quickly, but he drew cats everywhere. The old priest finally said he could not be a priest, though he might be an artist, and sent him away with the advice to avoid large places at night, and keep to small ones. He decided to go to a big temple nearby and ask them to take him on.
The temple had been deserted, because a goblin-rat had driven the priests away, and warriors who went against it were never seen again. A light burned at the temple at night, so when the boy arrived, he went in. He saw some big white screens and painted cats on them. Then he went to sleep, but, since the temple was large, he found a little cabinet to sleep in since he had remembered the priest's advice. In the night, he heard sounds of fighting, and in the morning, the goblin-rat was dead in the middle of the temple, and all the cats he had painted had mouths wet and red from the blood.
When the priests found out, he was hailed as a hero, and he went on to become a famous artist; one who only painted cats!
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
in Japanese Fairy Tales.
Synopsis
A farmer and his wife had many children; the youngest sonYoungest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
was too small and weak, and spent all his time drawing cats instead of doing his chores. So, they took him to the temple to become a priest. He learned quickly, but he drew cats everywhere. The old priest finally said he could not be a priest, though he might be an artist, and sent him away with the advice to avoid large places at night, and keep to small ones. He decided to go to a big temple nearby and ask them to take him on.
The temple had been deserted, because a goblin-rat had driven the priests away, and warriors who went against it were never seen again. A light burned at the temple at night, so when the boy arrived, he went in. He saw some big white screens and painted cats on them. Then he went to sleep, but, since the temple was large, he found a little cabinet to sleep in since he had remembered the priest's advice. In the night, he heard sounds of fighting, and in the morning, the goblin-rat was dead in the middle of the temple, and all the cats he had painted had mouths wet and red from the blood.
When the priests found out, he was hailed as a hero, and he went on to become a famous artist; one who only painted cats!
External links
- Audio recording of "The Boy Who Drew Cats" - Downloadable and streaming audio formats.