The Learned Cat
They tell and retell a story that once upon a time, there lived in Palermo a prince who boasted that he could remake the entire world according to his own will. And indeed, strange things happened in his palace. He taught a horse to eat meat, his dog chewed hay, and a donkey danced the tarantella, tapping a tambourine with its hoof.But the prince was most proud of his cat. Ten scholars in elaborate wigs and black robes spent ten years teaching the prince all the sciences befitting his high rank. And the prince put in even more effort than the ten scholars over ten years to make the cat forget that it was a cat. When the prince finally achieved what he wanted, he said to his friends:
"Come to my place tomorrow for dinner, and you will see that, with great effort, one can overcome nature. My learned cat will prove this to you."
The friends accepted the invitation. One of them, a clever and perceptive man, thought to himself, "If it's about a cat, it wouldn't hurt to bring a mouse, just in case!" And so he did.
The next day, everyone gathered in the grand hall of the palace. A lavish table was set. And in the middle of the table, standing motionless like a wooden statue on its hind legs, was the learned cat, holding a lit candle.
When the guests sat down at the table, servants began bringing in dishes of meat, game, and fish on golden platters. The aroma rising from the dishes was so delicious that the guests' mouths watered. And the cat? The cat didn't even twitch a whisker. Without moving, it continued to hold the burning candle.
The prince cast a triumphant look around the room.
"Well, what did I tell you!" he exclaimed. "Isn't it true that art surpasses nature?"
"Of course, of course!" cried the admiring guests. Only one of them remained silent. He placed a wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers next to him and discreetly released a mouse underneath it.
The mouse, feeling free, quickly poked its sharp little snout out from under the hat. As soon as the cat caught sight of the mouse, it forgot everything the prince had so painstakingly taught it. The candle flew to the side, glasses shattered with a clink, and the cat grabbed the mouse and ran off with it, tail held high.
And so, the prince failed not only to remake the entire world but even to alter the nature of a cat to his liking.
More fairy tales
