Mouse vs Cat in Chinese Literature Read online

  Throughout the day, each day again, he hides inside his hole.

  During the night when he comes out to steal some grain and flour,

  The cats are secretly devising how to take his life.

  Today he dies between the claws of these ferocious cats,

  And trekking to the world of shade, he copiously sheds tears.

  A wrongful death—his grieving soul knows nothing else to do

  But to create a major scene in the Dark-Welkin Hall!

  This is called A Tale without Shape or Shadow. This animal was a resident of the village of Hole in the district of Foot of the Wall in the prefecture of Earth. Fifty years old, he was named Old Mouse and was also known as Rat.

  Because he had some stores of grain, he counted as a wealthy man. With his

  wife, Mother Mouse, he wanted to discuss some household matters, so he

  said to her, “In one’s life here on earth there are three kinds of lack of filial piety, and the most serious of them is to be without posterity. Once one has children, a son becomes a couple once he is an adult and a daughter becomes a pair once she is grown up. In my opinion little Sharphead has grown up to be a man and by rights should welcome a wife. It is two years ago, I remember, that we arranged a marriage for him, so it is fitting that the bride should join our family. We should not let our in-laws have something to complain

  about.” When Mother Mouse heard this, she was very pleased: “So we should

  also select a lucky day.” So he decided on the tenth day of the First Month as This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Wed, 17 Jul 2019 13:04:39 UTC

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  a favorable day and good hour for fetching the bride. When his wife heard

  these words, she was extremely pleased, and she said, “Indeed,

  Trees have branches and leaves, grasses have roots;

  Ever since creation the generations follow each other.

  This year the grasses dry up and trees lose their leaves,

  But next year, come spring, they’ll sprout once again.

  If one raises a son but then does not find him a wife,

  How will one be able to hold a grandson in her arms?

  Since ancient times one generation follows the other:

  Generations of songbirds and generations that sing.”

  When Old Mouse heard the words of his dear wife,

  His face was all wrapped in smiles as he spoke thusly,

  “I may have lived for over half a century, dear wife,

  But only now I understand the norms and the rules.

  When we this year will have brought home a bride,

  The two of us, you and I, can set our worries aside.”

  Old Mouse further said, “Now the business of bringing home this bride for

  our son has been settled, I am not afraid of the work that is involved and

  I also am not afraid of the money I’ll have to spend. But while we have good relatives, we also have our enemies. That’s why I am still worried at heart.”

  But Mother Mouse said, “This doesn’t have to be a problem. Tomorrow we

  will hire some sturdy young fellows, so ‘our troops will be strong and the

  horses prepared.’ We will wait until late at night and furtively fetch the bride.

  Let there be enemies, but how would they know?”

  When Old Mouse heard this, he was very pleased,

  And he addressed his wife in the following words,

  “Now at present I have lived for over half a century,

  And know about love, duty, rites, wisdom, and trust.

  But in making these plans you are truly marvelous,

  You far surpass that Great Lord Jiang of former times;

  You may not be a match for the Peach Blossom girl,

  But you do resemble a Zhang Liang who is born again,

  You sure are a Zhuge Liang who has come back to life.29

  You have thought up this heaven-deceiving scheme:

  Let there be those wild cats, but how will they know?”

  He grabbed a brush and wrote the wedding invitations,

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  And he invited all the people for fetching the bride.

  First he invited Master Yellow from Eastern Slope,

  To be in charge of the wedding at home as the host.

  He further invited Brother Sable and Brother Ermine,

  And next he invited Molehill to welcome the in-laws.

  Little Granarymover would be pouring the wine;

  The matchmaker would be the rat of the Brown family.

  The hopping rabbit was hired to serve up the plates,

  And the weed hares, aunt and niece, were the ushers.

  Twenty men on horseback, with bows and arrows,

  And two large sedan chairs to go and fetch the bride.

  They did away with all lanterns and with all torches

  And didn’t use any drummers—they went in silence!

  Now tell that the Old Mouse and his wife, these two, had made all prepara-

  tions, and were waiting for the hour of xu on the tenth of the First Month for

  [the bride-fetching party] to set out.30 Old Mouse instructed them in great detail: “The road you will travel is very dangerous, so you have to be very careful. I have traveled this road in my youth and it is not safe at all. I’ll write out a list with all the stages of the road so you will not get lost on your way and lose your lives to them. This list is not written with a brush made of rat whiskers!” Old Mouse took up a rabbit-hair brush, and each character and

  column was written very clearly,

  “After you have left Shithouse Pass in Throughton,

  You’ll go straight ahead for more than thirty li.31

  On the Gate Lintel Mountain the road takes a turn;

  At this place on the road you must be very careful.

  Once you’ve crossed the thousand-mile wind hole,

  You will gaze on Tableton and travel on ahead.

  At Mount Granary you make a turn for twenty li;

  In front of the oil basket you cannot stop once.

  Quickly move on and pass by Gateturning Valley,

  And don’t pause for a while in Earthenpot Camp.

  Don’t go and enter into the city of Watervat,

  Don’t even want to stop at Fatmutton Fortress.

  At Wokstand Cliff you have to be very attentive;

  Be careful in Kangton as there live our enemies!

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  Once you have passed that place, it’s Vat City!32

  You should remember this well, don’t be careless.”

  He handed this list to little Sharphead, and said,

  “Follow this road to go ahead and fetch the bride!”

  The sun was sinking: dusk was darkening one’s eyes;

  Every family and each house lit the silver candles.

  In front of the hall the incense smoke was rising:

  The bride-fetching party of the mice had set out!

  These ghosts had left to lose their lives!33 As these mice went outside, they were filled with happy joy. They all thought that Master Mouse, with his

  high age and great virtue, had made every effort in his preparations and

  that on this good day they definitely would be protected by a l
ucky god.

  ( It’s the cat god that is waiting for them).34 “We only have to get going!”

  Let’s leave the mice for a while and tell that the cat Tigerstripes was

  walking across the eaves when he saw this bunch of mice making their

  way. Once he understood the situation, he shouted, “Brother, congrat-

  ulations!” Wildcat replied, “What is the reason for these congratula-

  tions?” “When a moment ago I was walking on the eaves,” Tigerstripes

  replied, “I saw a whole bunch of mice who were on their way. In his

  hands one of them held a route list that he recited very clearly. I would

  have liked to eat one of them, but I was afraid that that would scare

  away the others.

  I report this to you, Brother Wild, so you would know.”

  When Wildcat had heard this, he most happily smiled,

  Of the ten parts of his face, nine showed his pleasure.

  “This is a great blessing for the bellies of us, the cats!

  The tenth of the First Month is indeed a fortunate day.

  Go and invite in East Farm our dear brother Blackie,

  And inform in the kitchen our elder brother Yellow.

  Let Sending Coal in Snow also come to this place.”35

  When afterward all these many brothers arrived,

  The cats laughed out loudly, each greeting the other.

  “You all will be people who will be greatly blessed;

  Each of you give it his best—don’t let them escape.”

  Wildcat also said, “My dear brothers, now listen:

  Each of us will hold and guard a strategic position.

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  Once we will have eaten our fill at leisure this time,

  We don’t have to bother our owners for food for weeks!”

  When Wildcat had spoken these few sentences,

  The other cats followed his orders without any delay.

  Tigerstripes went in a hurry to the city of Kangton,

  While Blackie hid behind a hill, not making a sound.

  Old Yellow had ascended Earthenvat Fortress,

  While Old Blackie stayed behind there in Kangton.

  Sending Coal in Snow also arrived and he said,

  “I’ll bring my whip in the snow here in Vat City.”

  Their general Wildcat hid in the black-wind hole,

  And a youngster hid at the foot of Wokstand Cliff.

  Now tell that these cats had taken up their position and silently made

  no sound at all, while the mice were moving forward. You only saw that

  little Sharphead holding the list of stages in his hand and reading it out

  again and again. When he in his reading had arrived at Wokstand Cliff,

  the mice saw nothing suspicious ahead of them and moved forward without

  any worries. Suddenly Wildcat jumped out: his eyes were shooting stars,

  his nails were dredging hooks, and his teeth were iron nails! The cats

  arrested all of the mice and kept eating until daybreak. The souls of these mice had scattered beyond the ninth heaven, and they had died in a most

  miserable way.

  Old Wildcat had arrested the bride-fetching guests,

  Yellowcat grabbed those who were welcoming the bride.

  Old Blackie had taken the men who were matchmakers,

  While Tigerstripes had taken the sedan chair carriers.

  The cat generals, old and young, opened their maws,

  And that whole bunch of mice then all lost their lives.

  These cats each had eaten till they were fully sated,

  And then stretched themselves most happily out.

  They thought there would be no consequences—

  Who could know this would lead to a minor disaster?

  That one little mouse was quite nimble and cunning:

  Managing to escape in a wink, he quickly hid himself.

  He did not know where he might best hide himself:

  In front of the way? Behind the road? Then he fainted.

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  But all those cats at this moment did not care at all,

  They allowed Sharphead to escape—without a trace.

  If he had not been left to bring him the message,

  Old Mouse would have died, not knowing a word.

  Now tell that little Sharphead, seeing the enemies running around on

  all sides, was so scared by their display of might that he hid himself behind Mount Cupstand. His gall shaken and his heart frightened, he could not distinguish east or west, north or south. When he had crawled to Water Hole,

  he bored his way into the hole and didn’t dare say a word!

  Our little Sharphead was so disturbed at heart

  That he didn’t even know where he was hiding.

  He only heard the cats’ endless sutra-recitation,

  Didn’t know whether he would be able to survive.

  His heart had been frightened, his gall shaken:

  He anxiously waited for the night, not for dawn.

  But let’s not go on about him. Now tell that after the bride-fetching party had left, Old Mouse was discussing with Yellow Marten how the banquet

  had to be laid out and arranged. Yellow Marten said, “You must find a golden branch or jade leaf, someone with some experience of the world.36 He will be able to make the proper arrangements.”

  Yellow Marten addressed him in the following way,

  “Dear younger brother, now you must listen to me.

  The wedding of your son is not some minor matter,

  You definitely must provide a hall that’s fully red.

  The master of the house cannot but be very careful;

  In treating your guests you have to be quite lavish.

  At the head you place an eight-immortals table,37

  In front you hang brocaded silk, a red skirt all around.

  And on both sides you place a dozen zither tables,

  Incense burners, spoons and chopsticks, ostrich feathers.

  Eat one, see ten: a full array of fish and vegetables;

  The benches and the chairs should be sparkling new:

  Lacquered benches from the south, felt from the northeast.

  Above the wedding room door hang red decorations;

  Bed curtains embroidered with flowers, red silk cushions.

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  Red carpets should cover the floor, the color equally new.

  Fragrant tea and fine wine, and the finest dishes:

  Roasted, boiled, cooked, or simmered: each a clear taste.

  Dried ginger and assorted fruits should all be provided:

  Buy each and every fragrance that’s found in this world.

  The wine should be a large sea, the meat a mountain,

  And then you also want Molehill to act as the host.”

  When Old Mouse had heard this, he smiled happily,

  “Dear Brother Yellow Marten, you are a capable man!

  If we treat the guests in this way, all will be perfect!

  Sable and Ermine are ready to welcome the bride,

  Hopping Rabbit presents the plate w
ith greatest care.

  Granarymover, be attentive when serving the wine!”

  Repeatedly, up to four times, he instructed Molehill

  That each guest at the banquet should have his wine.

  “Weed Hare and niece are more capable than others!”

  Now tell that after Old Mouse had made all these arrangements, he was

  anxiously waiting for the return of the bride-fetching party, but even when midnight had arrived, he still did not see them return. Filled with suspicion, he continually went outside to have a look, so Yellow Marten said to him,

  “Dear brother, you are too impatient. As soon as the bride has arrived, you will treat us to wine. But even if we will have to come back tomorrow, that will still not be too late. Why do you have to be so upset?” Now tell that Granarymover said to Old Mouse, “Why don’t we first drink a cup of wine now the

  bride still hasn’t arrived? A drink will make our work easier.” Old Mouse

  replied to him, “You boys only want to have your wine and don’t care about

  the proper rules. The ancients said, ‘Drink less, do more.’ Once the bride-

  fetching party has returned, you all can stay for a few more days and drink your fill. Wouldn’t that be better?”

  When Granarymover heard this, he didn’t say a word,

  Hopping Rabbit with lowered head didn’t make a sound.

  But one said,

  “Brother Mouse is too unfeeling toward his servants.”

  And the other said,

  “My damned uncle is way too stingy in all his actions.

  Even when you order your slaves to do some work,

  You first ask them ‘Are you hungry?’ to soothe them.

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  In case the cats have messed up this happy affair,

  None of us will get anything to eat of this spread.”

  Now our story divides into two, and I will follow a different branch. Let’s tell how Sharphead in his water hole saw that a bundle of faggots was deposited