The Boy Who Drew Cats

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"The Boy Who Drew Cats" is a Japanese fairy tale collected by Lafcadio Hearn in Japanese Fairy Tales.^[1]

[edit] Synopsis

A farmer and his wife had many children; the youngest son was too small and weak, so they took him to the temple to become a priest. He learned quickly, but he drew cats everywhere. The old priest finally said he could not be a priest, though he might be an artist, and sent him away with the advice to avoid large places at night, and keep to small ones. He decided to go to a big temple nearby and ask them to take him on.

The temple had been deserted, because a goblin had driven the priests away, and warriors who went against it were never seen again. A light burned at the temple at night, so when the boy arrived, he went in. He saw some big white screens and painted cats on them. Then he went to sleep, but, since the temple was large, he found a little cabinet to sleep in since he had remembered the priest's advice. In the night, he heard sounds of fighting, and in the morning, the goblin-rat was dead in the middle of the temple, and all the cats he had painted had mouths wet and red from the blood.