The White Cat
by Nicholas
Wojcik
"What
a wonderful collection, Sophie," exclaimed Sophie's mother. Sophie was
amongst several artists to be recognized by the grand gallery, which
had recently suffered from a horrible fire. The gallery, upon its
rebuilding, would have a new wing. The chosen artists were asked to
submit a series of works to the gallery. They would be judged, and the
artist with the finest collection would have the entire wing dedicated
to them. Sophie needed only one more piece to complete her collection.
"I will leave this here for you," her mother said. She placed an
ivory-colored book at the edge of a table on the far end of the studio.
"It will help you paint your final piece."
"Meeoowww," cried Sophie's cat as
she rubbed her chin against the book's binding. Sophie picked up the
book and gave her cat a kiss. The book was ironically titled, "The
White Cat," by Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy.
Sophie opened the pages, and her
grandmere appeared before her for one last time. "I know of your
situation, my dear. It is so wonderful to hear that your lovely
paintings may be the highlight of the museum's new wing."
Sophie thanked her grandmere and
told her that it could not have been so without her grandmere's stories
and inspiration.
"Let me tell you another story."
Sophie's grandmere began to read.
There once was a king who had
three sons. The king knew the time would come when he would have to
give up his throne, but he was unsure which son was worthy of the
crown.
So, the king devised a plan.
"Gather around, my fine princes,"
the king said. "Before I leave this kingdom, I must ask each of you to
set out on a mission. You will travel for one year in search of the
most beautiful dog. He who returns with the golden hound will take the
throne when I am gone."
The youngest prince traveled until
the cold rain fell. He sought shelter at a large white castle. Several
bodiless hands guided him inside and rid him of his wet attire. The
hands returned with a set of the most luxurious clothing he had ever
seen, and after he dressed, he was guided to a table set for two.
As the prince sat quite perplexed
by the strange series of events, a small, cloaked figure entered the
room and sat before him. The figure pulled back her veil. Voila! It was
a gorgeous white cat.
"Dear prince," the cat spoke. "I
am a rather simple cat with a kind heart, and am aware of the reason
for your travel. Therefore, stay here until the year has passed and,
afterwards, I shall send you back to your father with the most
glamorous canine ever."
The prince agreed to the cat's
request and, at the end of the year, the cat presented the prince with
a small acorn. The prince held the acorn to his ear, and heard the most
pleasant bark from within.
When the prince arrived at his
father's quarters, his older brothers laughed at him for holding only
an
acorn. The young prince cracked open the acorn, and there in front of
them sat a dog like no other, lying on a silken white piece of wool.
The king was quite impressed but was still not ready to give up his
kingdom.
"I have another task for you, my
sons," said the king. "You must depart for one more year. He who
returns with the finest piece of linen shall win the throne." The
brothers left, with the youngest
traveling back to the
white cat's marble castle.
The white cat was very happy to
see that the prince had returned. For the next year he had so much fun
that he had forgotten all about his father's kingdom. At the end of the
year, the white cat reminded him that he must return to his father, and
presented the prince with a shiny, white stone. The prince returned to
his fathers's quarters and withdrew the stone from his pocket. He
cracked it open and withdrew a colorful piece of linen. There were
scenes of birds, beasts, fruit, trees, the sun, the moon, and all the
wonders the young prince had witnessed while at the white cat's castle.
The king was stunned.
"This is most impressive," said
the king, "but...I have one more task to ask of you. He who takes the
throne must have a wife, a queen, to aid in his ruling. Return in one
year, and he who returns with the prettiest dame, shall win the throne.
No strings attached!"
The prince sought the aid of the
white cat and returned the next year. The two elder brothers laughed at
the younger when he arrived holding nothing more than a white cat. When
the young prince approached the king, the white cat sparkled and
shined, and then turned into a beautiful woman.
"May I present, the new king and
queen," the king shouted.
The woman stepped in. "I have many castles, near and
far," she said. "For all of the work your three sons have done, as
queen, I want to share my castles with them." The king smiled and
welcomed her with open arms.
"So you see, my dear, not all
stories teach a lesson. Some are just nice to hear. I hope my stories
have helped you in some way or another, and I know your final painting
will be wonderful and cherished by many."
Sophie's
grandmere said goodbye and returned to the book. Something told Sophie
to go to the front door. She opened the door and before sat all of the
neighborhood cats. They had been listening to Sophie's grandmere tell
her tale. Sophie smiled and began to paint the painting that would win
her the wing at the museum.
Author's
Note: I have retold the story of "The White Cat" because I thought that
this story would be the perfect story to conclude my story book. Until
this point, all of the stories have provided Sophie with a certain
lesson, and I wanted to emphasize Sophie's interest in seeing her
grandmere one final time than to focus on a particular problem of hers.
I wanted to leave the impression that the final painting would be of a
white cat. The original story was extremely long. The original
continues by describing how the white cat became a white cat, for at
one time she was human. For those who are interested in seeing how she
came to be a white cat, click here to read view the original story.
Bibliography: "The White Cat" in The
Fairy Tales of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy by Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy,
1892 Original
Source
Image Information:
"Bird and Berries" by CFA Voysey Original Source