The Spoiled Little Kitten

From Deli Serdang, North Sumatera.

There was once a mother cat and her kitten who were much loved by the King.
They lived a life of such luxury.
All day they would lie around on velvet cushions.
If they became hungry, they would just call, “Meow. Meow. Meow-meow-meow!”
And a servant would appear with food on a golden plate.

“Here you are.”

The kitten in particular was very spoiled.
He seldom even moved except to call for more food.

“Meow. Meow. Meow-meow-meow!”

“Here you are!”
Then one day disaster struck.
The palace caught on fire and burned to the ground.

The mother cat and her kitten escaped into the forest.
But their life of luxury was gone.
There was no more servant to bring them food on a golden plate.

Now the mother cat had to go into the forest every day and try to find food for herself and her kitten. She soon became very thin and scraggly looking. Often she had only enough food for her son and had to go without
eating herself.

But the spoiled kitten still just lay in one spot.
He wouldn’t lift a paw to help his mother.
He had to sleep now on a bed of shredded leaves that his mother had made for him.
He complained all of the time.
He never made a move to help clean up their living space,
or offer to help his mother in her search for food.
One day the poor mother cat could not find anything at all to bring home for her kitten.

“I am sorry, son.
Tomorrow I will try again.”

The spoiled kitten threw a fit.
“Some mother YOU are!
Can’t even FEED me!
I am going to go find a BETTER mother!”
And the spoiled kitten actually got up off of his bed of leaves and stalked off into the forest.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!”

Soon the kitten noticed the Sun.
The Sun’s warm rays were touching everything.

“What a great idea!
SUN could be my mother!”

And he began to cry, “Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
SUN! I want you to be my MOTHER!”

Sun looked down.
“I hardly think so, little kitten.
I would burn the fur right off of your back.
You don’t want me for a mother.”

“I want a strong mother!
And you seem very strong.”
“Oh I am strong.
But there is someone stronger than me.
Cloud is much stronger.
Whenever cloud wants to, it can cover my face.
I can’t do a thing about it.
Cloud is stronger.”

“Oh. Well then….never mind.
I’ll go ask cloud.”

And the kitten went in search of cloud.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Cloud! Cloud!
Would you be my MOTHER?”

Cloud looked down.
“You don’t want me for a mother.
I would rain all over you.
You would be soaking wet all the time.
Find a better mother.”

“I want a strong mother.
I want the best mother!
Sun says you are stronger than her.
I want you!”
“Oh I am strong.
But there is someone stronger than me.
Wind is much stronger.
Wind can just blow me wherever she wants me to go.
Wind is the strong one.”

“Is that true?”

“That’s true.”
“Well then….never mind!
I’ll ask wind to be my mother.”

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Wind! Wind!
Would you be my MOTHER?”

“You don’t want me for a mother, little kitten.
I would just blow you away!”

“But you are strong!
I want the strongest mother!”

“I am strong.
But there is someone stronger.
Hill is stronger than I am.
No matter how hard I am blowing,
when I run up against hill, I am stopped in my tracks.
That hill is the strong one.”

“Oh. Well then…never mind.”

And the little kitten went in search of hill.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Hill! Hill!
Would you be my MOTHER?”

“What? A kitten wants me for a mother?
Not a good idea.
I am all rocks. There would be no place for you to rest.
How could you cuddle up to a mother like me.
Not a good idea.”

“But I want the strongest mother.
You are stronger than wind.
I want you!”

“Well I am stronger than wind.
But there is another stronger than I.
It is Carabao, the water buffalo.
That big bull just stomps all over my back.
Carabao knocks off my rocks.
Carabao squashes up my mud.
Carabao can flatten me entirely.
Carabao is strongest.”

“Well then…never mind.”

And the kitten went in search of Carabao.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Carabao! Carabao!
Would you be my MOTHER?”

“What? A huge Carabao as mother for a tiny kitten?
I would step on you and squash you.
I should not be your mother.”

“But I want the strongest mother.
You are stronger than hill…
And hill is stronger than wind and wind is stronger than cloud and cloud is stronger than sun.
I want the best mother of all.
I want you!”

“Oh I am not so strong,” said Carabao.
There is someone much stronger than I.
It is that rope.
Do you see how it goes around my neck and has tied me to that tree?
I cannot do a thing because of that rope.
Rope is stronger for sure.”

“Is that true?”
“That’s a fact.”

“Well then….never mind!”
And the kitten began to plead with the rope.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Rope! Rope!
Would you be my MOTHER?”

“You want a rope for a mother?
I think not.
Do you know what I would do, if I were your mother?
I would tie you up!
You wouldn’t like that!”

“Well…I want a strong mother.
You are stronger than Carabao and Carabao is stronger than hill and hill is stronger than wind and wind is stronger than cloud and cloud is stronger than sun. You must be strong!”

“I am strong.
But there is someone stronger than even I.
It is that horrible rat.
Rat just gnaws right through me.
Rat eats me up, ruins me.
Rat is the strong one.”

“Rat? Are you sure?”
“I am sure.”
”Well then….never mind.”

Kitten hurried to find Rat.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Rat! Rat!
Would you be my MOTHER?”
“You want a rat for a mother?
Do you know what I would do if I were your mother?
I would bite you all the time!”

“Oh dear.
But I want the strongest one to be my mother.
You are stronger than rope
Rope is stronger than Carabao.
Carabao is stronger than Hill.
Hill is stronger than Wind.
Wind is stronger than Cloud.
Cloud is stronger than Sun.

So you must be REALLY strong.”

“Oh there is someone much stronger than I.
In the forest there lives a skinny old mother cat.
Some day that cat will catch me.
She will eat me up.
That cat is the strong one.

But I feel sorry for that old cat, even though she is my enemy.
She has a spoiled kitten living with her.
That kitten would lift a paw to help her.
He just lies in bed and meows for food all day long.
That poor mother cat.
I do feel sorry for her.”

“Oh. Is that all true?”
“That is all true.”
“Well then…never mind…”

And the kitten went meowing through the woods.

“Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!
Meow! Meow! Meow-meow-meow!

Mother! Mother!
I want you to be my MOTHER!”

“Of course I will be your mother!
Where were you?
Come here and get a hug!”

“I was looking for the best mother in the whole wide world…and the strongest mother in the world.
But do you know what?
It is YOU!”

“Oh yes,” said Mother Cat. “Of course I am the best mother. For my little kitten at least.”

“And I think,” said the Kitten. “that as you are the best mother in the whole wide world…
I should try to be the best kitten in the whole wide world.
I’m not going to act spoiled anymore!”

And that Kitten never acted spoiled again!
•••••
Contributed by
Margaret Read MacDonald

[An Indonesian Folktale retold by Margaret Read MacDonald from Murti Bunanta, Indonesian Folktales, Libraries Unlimited, 2003. From Deli Serdang, North Sumatera.]