A Tale of a Rat

I was strolling in the temple garden one evening after dinner when I saw a rat trying to jump across a drain. He was very old and looked quite ill. I went up to him and asked whether he needed any help. He looked at me without blinking an eye and said he would be very grateful if I would help him. It was my turn to be surprised. Most of the time they panic and scurry away at the sight of me. I picked him up and put him down gently on the other side of the drain.


He looked at me for a while and said, “Will you do an old man a favour? Just sit with me for a while.”


“Sure,” I said, “I have all the time in the world. But why are you not afraid of me?"


“Because I can tell you’re different,” he said with a little smile. “You know,” he continued, “I have been ill for the last few months and have no one to care for me. I live in that house across the street and it has been very stressful since the mistress of the house brought a cat home. I can’t sleep at night for fear of being hunted down. I’m not young anymore and don’t have the strength to run. So I decided to leave and find another place to live.”


I couldn't help feeling sorry for the old chap. All my life (that is until now) I had been doing the hunting and chasing and I never knew what it was like to be at the other end of the stick. I felt I had to make amends to the poor guy.


I knew I should ask Head Nun first but I put the cart before the horse and said he could stay at the bottom of the temple garden. The place was well shaded by plants and shrubs and if he needed food, I could get a morsel or two from the kitchen.


He was very grateful indeed and I showed him the spot near the bougainvilleas where he would be safe. “Don’t worry about the other cats,” I told him. “They’re all my friends and they will not harm you.”


After he had settled down, Lao-Tzu the Rat said he wanted to tell me a story. “Do you know why cats and rats hate each other?” I said I had no idea and he began his story.


“You know, Da, one sly and cunning rat was to blame for the enmity between cat and rat. Most unfortunate! If I had been around at that time, I would have given him a good spanking and cut off his tail!


Thousands of years ago, the Jade Emperor organized a race for animals and the first 12 animals to finish first would be awarded a place in the Chinese Zodiac and have a year named after them. The Cat and the Rat, both late-risers asked the Ox to wake them at dawn on the day of the race. Came the day. The Ox tried to wake the Cat and the Rat, but without success. They would open their eyes, turn to the other side and go back to sleep. The race was about to start.


Unwilling to leave them, the Ox coaxed them onto his back and started running. The Rat woke up just as the Ox was crossing the last hurdle, a river. The sly rat knew that he could never beat the Cat in the race, so he pushed the Cat off the back of the Ox and scampered to victory, thus winning first place through his cunning. So that’s why the 12 year cycle begins with the Rat. The Cat had no place in the Zodiac as he was late, having fallen into the river.”


That dirty rat! If I too had been around at that time, I would have strangled him with his tail. Oh well, history cannot be changed and so enemies we shall forever be.


That evening was the first of many I spent with Lao-Tzu listening to his endless store of Chinese legends and myths.