AI-generated tale-cat interpretation.
Coat, cushion and setting imagined.
Overview
The fifth tale begins with a female cat who has long eaten mice in a large farm-house. Age and infirmity make hunting increasingly difficult. She summons the mice, promises not to harm them and announces that she regrets her former conduct. Her proposed retirement into religious contemplation has one condition: every mouse must pass her twice daily and bow in gratitude. The mice welcome this apparent peace, and the cat takes a seat on a cushion to receive their procession.
Her method depends on its order. After the other mice have gone past, she catches the last one without the rest noticing. Repeating this at each procession restores an easy food supply while preserving the appearance of her promise. The friends Rambé and Ambé notice that their community is shrinking. One takes the leading position and the other the last; they continually call and answer, so the cat cannot remove the rear mouse unnoticed. She initially hopes this arrangement is accidental, but it defeats her at successive gatherings.
The friends warn the other mice to flee if she becomes angry. At the next procession she finally leaps into their midst, abandoning the appearance of peaceful contemplation. The warned mice escape into their holes before she catches any of them. They cease trusting her, and the tale ends with her starvation, while the two friends are honoured. This individual antagonist is distinguished from the separately catalogued mouse pair. Her deceit is a claim made by a fable animal, not evidence that Tibetan religious practitioners share her motives or behaviour.
Origins & earliest records
Selected Tibetan-collected narrative; exact teller and locality unspecified.
Records & interpretation
Complete tale and notes, plus collection preface, read from retained historical edition.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Folk Tales from Tibet
V, The Story of the Cat and the Mice, pp.26–29
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected narrativeO’Connor1906, V, The Story of the Cat and the Mice, pp.26–29Research access: 2026-10-17
Image credits
AI-generatedAI-generated tale-cat interpretation.
Coat, cushion and setting imagined.
