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The Vanity Cat Hello,

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this is Jana and welcome

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to Story Nori. This

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is a story about a princess cat who

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is vain. If someone

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is vain, it means they

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have a high opinion of themselves. Her

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word very like this is conceited,

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but maybe I'm being a bit hard on her. See

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what you think. In

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ancient times, a cat lived

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in the palace with the royal family. Her

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name was Princess Cat, and

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she was an exceptionally beautiful cat

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with fluffy white hair and

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sky blue eyes. She

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understood very well that she was

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beautiful, because everyone was

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always saying so, and she

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always felt there was something special

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about her. In

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fact, she was quite certain that she

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was as royal as any human prince

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or princess. Now

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it so happened that the one person

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in the palace who did not stop

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to admire her or scratch

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her behind the ears was the

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king's eldest son. His

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indifference annoyed the cat very much.

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Princess Cat could do nothing to get his

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attention, still less to

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win his admiration. When

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he came downstairs to breakfast, she

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tried escorting him with her tail held

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high, but when he went

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into the breakfast room, he

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let the door swing into her face. She

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did not like that. Then

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he was sitting in the garden under a tree. She

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climbed up onto a high branch and

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meowed in distress, pretending

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that she was stuck, and did

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not know how to return to the ground. Surely

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the noble prince would rush gallantly to

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her aid, but no, at

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first he ignored her. And

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then he moved to another spot in the garden, where

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her meows could not disturb him. Once,

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she slipped into his bedroom and

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settled down on his silken pillow.

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How comfortable she was there! But

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when he came to bed and saw her, he

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merely clapped his hands and ordered the

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servant to remove the pillow and

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the cat, and to bring

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him a fresh pillow without any cat hairs

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on it. So all

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of her attempts to be noticed, admired,

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and loved by the prince, ended

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in dismal failure, but

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worse still, when a

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human princess visited the palace, his

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eyes followed her everywhere she went.

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Princess Cat certainly noticed how

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he was enchanted by the

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human princess, and

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she was so sad and annoyed that

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she went to hide down in the

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dark cellar where the mice lived. It

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was the only place she could go, where she

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could not hear the music and the laughter

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of the ball that was taking place in

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the grand hall. The

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happy sounds made her feel even more

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sad, because she wasn't

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included in the human merrymaking. Down

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in the cellar, she cried to

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herself, So,

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he hardly notices me. Meow!

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Correction! He does

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not notice me one little bit.

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But when she's around,

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his eyes are stuck to her like

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glue. What has she got

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that I haven't? Her

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eyes are grey like a rainy day

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where mine are sky blue. Her

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hair is straggly brown like

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mud where mine is

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all white and fluffy. She

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walks like she's wearing clogs

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where I stroll

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elegantly. Meow! And

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have you heard her speak?

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She laughs like a hyena

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and she's not nearly as

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smart or intelligent as I

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am. The only

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thing she's got that I

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haven't is that she's

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a human. It's so unfair.

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If only I was a human, he

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would love me, not her. I know

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he would. He wouldn't

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be able to stop himself falling right in love

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with me. If only

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I was a human princess. This

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isn't fair to us cats. Now

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it so happened that a number

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of old things were kept down in a cellar.

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These included a statue of the Goddess of

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Love, Aphrodite no

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less. This Aphrodite

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heard the cat meowing pitifully

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to herself and

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she spoke through the darkness. You

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are right. If

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only you were a human princess,

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he would fall in love with

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you at first glance. Meow! Well

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at least someone agrees

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with me. Meowled

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back the cat, whose name

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was Princess Cat. But

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he's a fat lot of good

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because I shall never be a

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human princess. He'll never

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look at me. Not

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so, replied Aphrodite.

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Love conquers all, at least

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when I'm around. But

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remember. Nine tenths

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of lights is about showing

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up. So stop

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all this pitiful meowing, get

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up, and go back to

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the ball. Princess

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Cat felt inspired by the words of the

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goddess, and so she rose

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to her four feet. But

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hang on, not to her

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four feet, but to her

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two feet. Then there

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was a swish of silk and a

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gust of rose-scented perfume. This

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was strange. She

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had never felt like this before, to climb

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the stairs back to the ground floor of the palace.

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And when she stepped back into the hallway, right

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in front of her was a gilded mirror. She

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looked into the mirror and saw

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herself. She had

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become a beautiful princess,

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with sky-blue eyes and flowing

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white hair falling down in

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curls. But

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the white hair did not make her look old. It

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was striking and unusual

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for one with such a youthful

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and beautiful face. She

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strolled into the ballroom just

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as the young people were pairing off for

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the next dance. Princess

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Cat, now human, was

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very gratified to see that

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the prince was staring right

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at her. Forgetting the

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other princess, he strolled right

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over to her and asked her

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for the next dance. And

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of course, being a former cat,

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she had perfect balance and

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danced most gracefully. The

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couple danced away the night together, and

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in the morning, the young prince

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went to see his father the

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king to declare that he was in love and

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absolutely must marry the mystery

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princess. The king,

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who would do anything for his eldest son,

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readily agreed and set the

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wedding day for the wedding day. months' time. During

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the months away, the former cat went

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to live in the cellar so that nobody

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would see her or suspect that she

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was nothing other than a real human

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princess. She

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spent the time happily talking to

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Aphrodite about love and romance and

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wasn't ever hungry, because there were

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plenty of mice down in the cellar. On

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the appointed day of her wedding, Aphrodite

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dressed her in a wonderful dress and

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did her hair like a fairy tale princess,

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because after all, that was

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exactly what she was, and

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she arranged for a golden chariot, pulled

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by a pair of white horses to carry

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her up the hill to

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the temple of Aphrodite, where

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the wedding was due to take place. How

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the crowds gathered and cheered,

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kings and queens, dukes and

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duchesses, generals and wise counsellors

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had come from all the

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nearby kingdoms as honoured guests.

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At the gates of the temple, she

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stepped down from the chariot and all

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the onlookers were delighted by her beauty,

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all except for one, and

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that was the other princess, whom

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the prince had lost interest in

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so suddenly at the ball. The

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mystery princess, who was formerly a cat,

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was escorted into the temple by the

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king's top general. The

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prince was waiting for her at the altar, the

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moment she had dreamed of for

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so long had almost arrived. But

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oh no! As Princess

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Cat was walking up the

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aisle, what

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did she see out of the

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corner of her eye? But

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a mouse, a

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cheeky little mouse who had

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sneaked into the temple on her

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wedding day. How dare!

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Immediately, she pounced on the

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little fellow and gobbled him up. The

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guests had never seen anything

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like it. They were

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shocked and amazed. Realizing

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her mistake and covered in shame, Princess

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Cat ran up a tree and jumped

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onto the wall of the temple, where

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she hopped down the other side and ran

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into the forest, now transformed,

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once again, into a cat. Eventually,

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after the fuss had died down, she

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sneaked back into the palace to

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restart her former life as a

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pampered kitty, which was

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much more ideal than fending for herself

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in the forest, and

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she never again wished that

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she could be human. And

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this fable goes to show that a

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person or an animal can change his

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or her appearance, but

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it's much harder to change their true nature.

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A form of this story has been told

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many times, in many places, including

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by the Greek writer Elsop.

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This version was written for Story Nori

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by Bertie and read by me, Jana.

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Until next time, take care.

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Bye for now.