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Yiddish-Folktales
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Why Dogs Chase Cats and Cats Chase Mice

Once upon a time the dogs applied to the king for a decree that would forbid people to bother dogs. The king signed the decree and gave it to them, but then the dog couldn’t think of a place to put it. Finally they passed it to the cats for safekeeping, because cats are able to creep into all sorts of snug nooks and crannies. The cats took the paper and hid it in the eaves of a house.

Sometime later, dogcatchers started rounding up dogs. “Hey,” cried the dogs, “wait a minute. We’ve got a decree from the king that says you can’t bother us.”

“If that’s true,” said the dogcatchers, “where is it?”

So the dogs ran to the cats and said, “We need the king’s decree that forbids anyone to bother us. Where is it?”

“Wait a minute. We’ll go and look,” said the cats, and off they went to the eaves. The document was there all right, but the mice had gnawed it to shreds and tatters. When the dogs heard this, they were furious and chased the cats; and when the cats were chased, they were furious and chased the mice.

And that’s how it’s ever since.

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Glossary

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AnnotationsSOURCE: V.A. 167:11.
TALE TYPE: 200.
COMMENTS: The manuscript reads: “From the Archives of the Historic Ethnographic Expedition (?)” [*sic*]; (no date recorded) This may be a tale originally collected during the An-ski Expedition, 1912–1914. (See the Introduction, note 3.)


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