Cats and mice are not very compatible now but the ancient ones tell a story that once upon a time cats and mice were friends. However, as many lopsided relationships are prone to do, eventually the relationsip went sour. Although the cats were larger, the mice were much more prolific than the cats and so there were many more mice than cats. One day there were so many mice that they began to go hungry and went before the Lord and said that the cats and the mice are partners but there is not enough food for both of them to eat. The Lord answered, "I see what you are trying to do. You are plotting against the cats in the hope that you can devour them. For your punishment I decree that the cats shall eat the mice instead." The mice were suddenly repentant and said, "Oh Lord, how could we have gone so wrong?" The Lord replied, "Go away from me! You should have noticed the example of the moon who lost part of her light because she spoke badly of the sun and the sun was given the extra light and thus made much brighter by the moon's loss. This evil intention by the mice against the cats will be punished in the same way. Instead of the mice devouring the cats the cats shall devour the mice." The mice said, "Oh no Lord! Shall all of the mice be eaten by the cats?" The Lord said, "No,I will take care that a remnant of mice is always spared." In their consternation with this decision the mice started biting the cats, and the cats, in turn, threw themselves upon the mice and ripped into the mice with their claws and teeth until many of them lay dead. Since that day, the mice have learned their lesson and stand in such awe of the cats that they do not even attempt to defend themselves against their enemy, but always keep themselves in hiding.
Similarly dogs and cats maintained a friendly relation to each other, and only later on became enemies. A dog and a cat were partners, and they shared with each other whatever they had. It once happened that neither could find anything to eat for three days, not even a mouse. Thereupon the dog proposed that they dissolve their partnership. The cat should go to Adam, in whose house there would surely be enough mice for her to eat, while the dog should seek his fortune elsewhere. Before they separated, they took an oath never to go to the same master. The cat took up her abode with Adam, and she found sufficient mice in his house to satisfy her appetite. Seeing how useful she was in driving away the bothersome mice, Adam treated her most kindly. The dog, on the other hand, saw bad times. The first night after their separation he spent in the cave of a bear, who had granted him a night's lodging. At night the dog caught the sound of grunting, and he reported it to the bear, who ordered him repulse the intruders. They were wild boars. The dog had a hard time repulsing the boars, and almost lost his life on account of their large tusks.
The dog fled from the house of the bear, and took refuge with the monkey. But the monkey would't cooperate, and the fugitive was forced to appeal to the hospitality of the sheep who welcomed him gladly. Again the dog heard noises in the middle of the night. He arose to chase away the marauders, who turned out to be wolves and they chased the dog away instead. The barking of the dog suggested to the wolves the possible presence of sheep, so that the dog innocently caused the death of the sheep. Now he had lost his last friends. Night after night he begged for shelter, without ever finding a home. Finally, he decided to go to the house of Adam, who also granted him refuge for one night. When wild animals approached the house under cover of darkness, the dog began to bark. Adam awoke, and with his wooden staff he drove them away. Recognizing the dog's usefulness, Adam bade him remain with him always. But as soon as the cat spied the dog in Adam's house, she began to quarrel with him, and reproach him for having broken his oath to her. Adam did his best to pacify the cat. He told her he had himself invited the dog to make his home there, and he assured her she would in no way be at a loss by the dog's presence. He wanted both to stay with him. But it was impossible to appease the cat. The dog promised her not to touch anything intended for her. She insisted that she could not live in one and the same house with the lousy dog. Bickerings between the dog and the cat became the order of the day. Finally the dog could stand it no longer, and he left Adam's house, and went to the house of Adam's third son Seth. He was welcomed kindly by Seth and from Seth's house, he continued to make efforts at reconciliation with the cat, but his efforts were vain. And so, the enmity between the dog and the cat was transmitted to all their descendants until this very day, just like the enmity between the donkey and the elephant.
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