Once there lived a cat. She thought: "The
lion is the strongest of all the animals. It is good to have strong friends. I
shall go to the lion and make friends with him."
She did so, and the lion and the cat were friends for many, many days. Once they
went for a walk together and met an elephant. The lion began to fight with the
elephant, and the elephant killed him. The cat was very sorry. "What shall
I do?" she thought. "The elephant was stronger than the lion. I shall
go to the elephant and make friends with him."
She did so, and they were friends for many, many days.
Once they went for a walk and met a hunter. The hunter shot at the elephant and
killed him. The cat was sorry, but she thought: "The man is stronger than
the elephant, I see."
So she went up to the hunter and asked, "May I go with you?" "All
right, let us go home together," he said.
They came to the man's home. His wife met him and took his gun from him. The cat
saw that and thought: "Oh, the woman is the strongest of all! She can take
the hunter's gun from him, and he does not fight with her; he does not even say
a word!"
The man sat down at the table, and the woman went to the kitchen. The cat went
to the kitchen, too. She decided to stay with the woman forever.
That is why you always see a cat in the kitchen at a woman's feet.