October 11. Story of the Day: The Wild Cat, the Hen, and the Egg

This is a Lushai folktale found in The Lakhers by N. E. Parry.

This is ATU 210 Rooster, Hen, Duck, Pin, and Needle.

Looking for more stories? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

AWTI-PONG PALONG

The Wild Cat, the Hen, and the Egg

(Indian jungle cat)

A wild cat once pretended to make friends with a hen, but all the time really he intended to eat her.

"Where will you sleep tonight?" he once asked her.

To which the hen replied, "I shall sleep in the awhchari (the hen's basket)."

But when night fell she slept in the awhdua (the place where the water-tubes are kept).

The wild cat came in the night expecting to find the hen in the awhchari, but as she was not there, he returned home again.

On meeting the hen the next day, the wild cat asked her, "Hen, where did you sleep last night?"

And the hen replied, "I slept in the awhdua."

So he asked her again, "Where will you sleep tonight?"

"I shall sleep in the awhdua, where I have laid my egg," said the hen; but actually she slept in the awhchari.

So the wild cat came again during the night, and not finding the hen in the awhdua, he returned home very angry.

He happened to meet the hen on the next day, and again asked her where she had slept, and the hen replied, "I slept in the awhchari."

So a third time he asked her, "Where will you sleep tonight?"

"I shall sleep in the awhchari" said the hen, but when evening came she slept in the awhdua.

The wild cat came in the night and, looking in the awhchari and finding it empty, he went to the awhdua and, finding the hen, he killed her and ran away with her body.

But the hen had laid ten eggs. They decided to revenge their mother's death, and tried to leave the awhdua, and in doing so they all were broken except one, who happened to be the youngest.

The little egg decided to revenge its mother alone, but on the road it met the Spirit of Cold, who asked it where it was going.

The egg replied, "I am not going anywhere in particular."

But the Spirit of Cold said, "I know that you are going to revenge your mother's death. Let me come too, as I may be able to help you."

So the Spirit of Cold went along with the egg.

A little while later they met a rat-trap, who asked them where they were going, but as they did not answer him, he said, "I know that you are going to revenge the death of the egg's mother. I will accompany you, and perhaps help you."

So the three went on together and met one after the other, a pestle, a red ant, some chaff and a dao, who all insisted on accompanying the egg.

Soon they reached the wild cat's house, but he was away in his jhum [field]. So the Spirit of Cold went to the jhum and found the cat was weeding, so he went close to him and caused him to shiver and tremble with cold.

While this was happening, the rat-trap set itself under the wild cat's house, the pestle hid above the door, the egg went on to the hearth beside the fire, and the red ant and the chaff remained on the floor near the egg. The dao climbed up onto the wall.

Presently the wild cat came home, very cold, and sat down by the fire, when suddenly the egg burst, which frightened him so much that he moved away and lay down on the chaff, but was immediately bitten by the red ant. He moved again, and started to rub himself against the wall, but there the dao cut him. He decided to leave the house, but as he went out of the door, the pestle fell on him, and he went underneath the house, but there the rat-trap caught him and held him tightly until he died.

And thus was the egg able to take revenge for the death of its mother.