Why the cats and rats are enemies [short story]

Title

Creator

Clemen, Guillermo C.

Language

English

Year

1940

Subject

Short stories, Philippine (English)

Philippine fiction (English)

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

April, 1940 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 143 WHY THE CATS AND THE RATS ARE ENEMIES By GUILLERMO C. CLEMEN * LONG, long ago the cat and the rat lived together in the mountain and were very good friends. What one had was shared by the other. Every night the cat hunted for birds while the rat stole camotes. They ate together, slept together, and played together. · "Meow, meow, meow," the cat said one morning after their breakfast, "kt us play hide-and-seek." "Crititictic, crititictic," replied the rat "That is a good idea." i''Who will he the first it?" asked the cat. "Let me be the one," answered the rat. And so the cat hid himself while the rat began to look for him .. Shortly afterward, the rat found him. Then the rat hid himself in the darkest part of their dweli'ing. l\.1any hours passed by, hut the cat could not· locate him. At last the cat felt so tired that he called the rat for dinner. 'fhere was camote and bird meat for food. "Crititictic, crititictic," said the rat, mischief playing in his eyes. "You finally had to give up your search." The cat became angry. "Meow, meow let's have a wager if you want." "That suits me," laughingly replied the rat. "If you could find me, you may kill me at once, but if you couldn't, I will eat all your food." The cat thought the conditions very satisfactory; in fact, he considered them favorable to him. "Now is my chance to punish you for your mockery," he said to himself. "I'll have a good hearty meal out of your fat little body." After their dinner, they started the game again. The rat hid himself in a •Mercantile College, Cebu City. bamboo tube whose passage was just barely enough for his body. The cat could not find the rat, and after a long, long search, he felt tired and fell asleep. When the rat peeped out of his hid. ing place and found the cat slieeping, he came out and ate all the food. The cat w'as in great rage in waking up and finding all the food gone. He swore aloud, promising himself again to kill the rat if he could only find him. Hear._ ing this the rat became fearful, and at the first opportunity, when the cat was not around, ran away. Left alone the cat felt loneso~e, and when he could not endure the loneliness any longer, he went to a neariby town. He went up into onie of the houses and begged the owner to take him in. "I promise to rid your house of rats which eat your food and gnaw your clothes," he pleaded. The kind old man took the cat in. (Please turn to page 144) 144 THE YOUNG CITIZEN April, 1940 I'LL SELL CHEESE. MRS. TORRES By AMPARO L. KILATES • "THIS is the last day of school," Mrs. Torres said to the Grade Four class. "Tomorrow will be the first day of vacation. What are your plans for this summer?" Many raised hands eagerly. "Yes, Nita," Mrs. Torres called on a ten-year old girl. "I'm going to Baguio with Aunt Carmen. Mother says I may," Nita told the class. "That is good. Baguio is cool and beautiful and is a good place to spend the summer season in. And you, Jose?" Jose stood up promptly and said, "Oh, I will visit Mt. Mayon and Consocep Falls," he declared. "Hmmm," Pedro, the naughty boy, cleared his throat in an exaggerated way. Everybody smiled, for it was common knowledge that the two boys had an oldtime rivalry for class leadership. • Cabusao, Camarines Sur. "Well, Pedro," Mrs. Torres said . , "what are your plans?" "I-er-I shall go hunting wi~h my grandfather," Pedro said, and almost every one laughed because the class knew that Pedro's grandfather, already a tottering old man, couldn't even go out without his cane, and couldn't recognize a boy from a .girl unless he had his spectacles on. "How about you, Lino?" This time Mrs. Torres picked out the most polite and ser_ ious boy in the cl~ss. Before Lino could answer, and before the teacher could stop it, half of the class ·chorused in taunting unison: " Queso, queso! Bagong bago! Tolo veinte cinco!" (Cheese! cheese! Very new! Three for t\Yenty-five centavos!) Poor Lino blushed, turned pale, then grew red again. Finally he managed to say in a calm voice, "I will sell cheese, ~1rs. Torres, because my mother is sick, and we are very poor." The tittering of the class subsided into a long silence. Then Mrs. Torres remarked quietly, "Lino, you have the best plan." _____ _:__~ . ·--. - WHY THE CATS ... (Continued from page 143) From that time on, the house was rid of rats. But the rats have nevier been exterminated. It is because they are clever. They know how to escap~ and elude their enemies. They are not always hiding. Whten the cats are away, the rats do play.

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