Storytelling for Week 7: In Search for Love

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One dark and gloomy day there was a very particular beautiful cat named Gon, who was pondering his existence. He lived with his young master whom he loved most dearly. His master was a musician and Gon liked to spend his days listening to him play. Their house was very nice and cozy, and it was right in the middle of a very small town in Japan. Their house was not particularly big, but it was in no means small. Got and his master lived very comfortably. Gon had a very good life. He was given treats whenever he pleased, he had a roasting fire to lay by, birds to chase, constant attention and petting from his master, and most importantly a roof over his head to sleep. In fact, Gon was treated like an absolute king by his master. However, he was never truly happy because it always seemed like something was missing from his life. He tried desperately to make himself happy, but he could not figure out exactly what was missing from his life until that gloomy day at home.

As Gon sat inside his nice house, he curled up near the window and watched the outside. He sat there for hours upon hours seeing people come and go all day. He did this most days so it was not a special occasion. Then it happened.

He watched as a man sat upon a bench and Gon saw his look at the town and watch the people, just like he was doing from behind the window. The man looked content but not necessarily happy. Then, a young woman approached the man and sat down next to him. She looked at him kindly before grabbing his hand and giving him a kiss. This young woman completely changed the man's emotions because now he was filled with joy and smiling ear to ear. It was clear to Gon that this man and woman were in love.

It was that very moment that Gon realized what was missing in his life. He wanted another cat to love, and he was sure that would make him happy. Now he just needed to figure out how to make this a reality. He meowed by the back door day in and day out for over a week in hope that his master would let him outside to explore the town. Gon knew there was no way he would meet a pretty cat just lying around the house.

A few days later he got his chance! His master had walked out the front door to pick up his mail. He did it the same way he did every single day. However, this specific day he accidentally left the door a little cracked open. Gon was ecstatic and pushed through the door with his nose. He trotted around the perimeter of the house and it wasn’t long before he saw her. Standing a little way down in front of the neighbor’s house was the most beautiful cat he had ever seen. She had white fur that looked like silk. She looked like an angel, and to his surprise she was staring at him too, with a twinkle in her eye. It was fate. He ran towards her and it was love at first meow. He had found Koma, and the rest was history.

Author's Note: This story is based on a story from that I read in the Japanese Fairy Tales, called The Cat's Elopement. The original story was very interesting and enjoyable to read. It is about two cats Gon and Koma. A handsome cat named Gon, belonging to a music teacher, and a lovely cat named Koma, belonging to a lady, met and fell in love. Neither of their owners would sell one of them to the other owner, and they finally decided to elope. In the evening, they were threatened by a dog; Koma fled up a tree, while Gon stood his ground to protect her; a servant came by and carried off Gon to his mistress, the princess. A snake had fallen in love with this princess, and annoyed her with its visits. One day, when it came to annoy her once again, Gon pounced on it and killed it. After, he saw a large cat harassing a smaller one. He went to rescue the small cat and found it was Koma. He brought her to the princess and told her their story. She wept with sympathy and kept them with her; when she married a prince, she told him their story, and the prince agreed to keep them always, so they lived happily, with their many kittens playing with the prince and princess's many children. I decided to write this story to explain how he met Koma and why he needed her in his life. I decided I wanted to make the need for love and affection in Gon’s life a little greater. I did not feel the need to tell the rest of the story because the original did such a good job of that in the first place. It was very hard to make an already great story any better. I though instead of changing a big part in the story, that instead I would just write a great amount of detail to the beginning of the story.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Japanese Fairy Tales unit. Story source: The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897). It is from the story The Cat's Elopement.