The Cat’s Meow

There once was a family who had fallen on hard times. The family was out of money and needed food, so the father sent off his oldest son with the family’s only cow and asked him to sell it in the market for a good price. As the son walked away from the family’s cottage, pulling the cow along behind him with a rope, the father called out from the porch steps, “Remember, trade for a good price. Don’t let any of the villagers trick you!”

As the young boy arrived at the village, he discovered there was a fair going on, and there were many villagers in the small town. As the young boy walked through the crowded streets, vendor after vendor called to him to trade the cow for a service. “Let me read your palm!” “Come and see a show!” “Find out how strong you are for the price of your cow!” However, the good boy continued to ignore their shouts and kept moving toward the market area where he could trade the cow for food for his family.

At the market, he found a vendor who was willing to make a trade. He could trade the family cow for a magical cat. Now the boy knew he needed food for the family, but a magical cat was too good to pass up. So, he quickly made the trade, put the cat down into his bag, and went home to share the new fortune with his family.

When the father saw what his son had done, he could not believe it. He sat down at the table and looked stunned. There was no food, and now they had no cow. “Don’t worry, Papa,” the young boy said. “You haven’t seen just what this cat can do.” He stroked the fur of the cat, and the cat started to purr. When he did, food magically appeared on the table. When he stroked the cat’s fur harder, more and more food appeared. The boy’s father could not believe his eyes. The boy had not made a foolish trade after all. From here on out they would have plenty of food to eat and a helpful pet to keep away any nasty vermin. From that point on when people asked the family how they were doing, there was only one way they could describe their new situation: everything was absolutely . . . purrfect.