Week 7, storytelling: Why Dogs Hate Cats

Why Dogs Hate Cats

 

My dear pups, “why do dogs hate cats so much”, you ask? Gather around and I will tell you the tale that my father told me. This story has been passed down from dog to pup for many generations. It was a long, long time ago. Back then dogs and cats were actually friends. 


There once was a dog named Max. He lived with this nice human couple and their cat, Mittens. Max and Mittens were friends. They played together, ate dinner together, and even slept next to each other in front of the fireplace. The humans took very good care of them both. 

Max and Mittens 

One day the humans noticed a hole in the lady human’s bag that held a key to a very special box. There were teeth marks all around the hole in the bag and rat dropping on the ground nearby. A rat had taken the key. This box must have held something truly important, because the humans were very distraught that the key was missing.


Max and Mittens did not like seeing their human friends so unhappy and set out to hunt for the rat. Max and Mittens searched the house but did not find the rat. They then expanded their search to the yard. After a while Max picked up the rat’s scent and he and Mittens took off in the direction of the scent. They came to the creek, but Mittens could not swim. Max took the cat upon his back and swam across the creek. They came upon a barn and went inside. The rat’s scent led them to a small area behind some boxes. Max was too big to reach in behind them, but Mittens was able to fit and went inside and found the key. Mittens took the key from the rat. Max and Mittens were happy that they were able to find the key for their humans. Now they could be happy again.

Old Barn

Max and Mittens raced home as fast as they could. Max again helped Mittens cross back over the creek. Once on the other side, Mittens took off as fast as he could, holding the key. Max could not keep up. He was too big to run under the fallen trees like Mittens did, and had to run around them. He could not run over the houses like Max, and had to run around them as well. Mittens returned home long before Max did. When Max finally caught up, the humans were praising Mittens for finding the key and returning it to them. Mittens was given extra treats and the humans were lavishing their attention on him. Max went in expecting the same loving treatment as Mittens. After all, they had worked together to find the key. One could not have done it without the other.


But it was not extra treats and attention that Max received. Max was scolded for not helping Mittens bring back the key. He was tossed outside in the cold without food. Mittens didn’t do anything. He just sat there in front of the warm fireplace and purred. Max grew angry at the cat for not saying anything. The cat robbed him of his share of the reward. It was then that dogs realized that cats are very selfish and from that day forward, they were enemies.

Sad Max

So remember pups, if a cat ever tries to convince you to be friends, beware. They will betray you the first chance they get. 

Authors Note: I took this story from Why Dog and Cat are Enemies. I changed the story somewhat. In the original story, the humans had a magical ring that whoever owned it would always have enough to live on, but they sold the ring not knowing it was magical. Otherwise the story is pretty much the same. I wanted to tell it from the dog's point of view in a story that was passed down from generation to generation. 

Bibliography:  Story source: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).