The Boy Who Drew Cats Part I

This is a Japanese fairy tale called The Boy Who Drew Cats

Once there was a boy who loved to draw. His name was Joji.

Joji grew up on a farm with lots of brothers and sisters. The others were a big help to their father and mother. But not Joji!

He did nothing for hours but draw in the dirt with a stick. And what Joji drew was just one thing.

Cats.

Cats, cats, and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats. Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats.

“Joji,” his father told him, “you must stop drawing all those cats! How will you ever be a farmer?”

“I’m sorry, Father. I’ll try to stop.”

And he did try. But whenever Joji saw one of the farm cats go by, he forgot about his chores and drew another cat.

“Joji will never make a farmer,” said the farmer sadly to his wife.

“Maybe he could be a priest,” she told him. “Why don’t you take him to the temple?”

So the farmer brought Joji to the priest at the village temple. The priest said, “I will gladly teach him.”

From then on, Joji lived at the temple. The priest gave him lessons in reading and writing. Joji had his own box of writing tools, with a brush and an ink stick and a stone.

Joji loved to make the ink. He poured water in the hollow of the stone. He dipped the ink stick in the water. Then he rubbed the stick on the stone. And there was the ink for his brush!

Now, the other students worked hard at their writing. But not Joji! With his brush and rice paper, he did nothing for hours but draw. And what Joji drew was just one thing.

Cats.

Cats, cats, and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats. Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats.

“Joji,” the priest told him, “you must stop drawing all those cats! How will you ever be a priest?”

“I’m sorry, honorable sir. I’ll try to stop.”

And he did try. But whenever Joji saw one of the temple cats go by, he forgot about his writing and drew another cat.

That was bad enough. Then Joji started drawing on the folding screens of the temple. Soon there were cats on all the rice-paper panels. They were everywhere!

“Joji, you’ll never make a priest,” the priest told him sadly. “You’ll just have to go home.”

Joji went to his room and packed his things. But he was afraid to go home. He knew his father would be angry.

Then he remembered another temple in a village nearby. “Maybe I can stay with the priest there.”

Joji started out walking. It was already night when he got to the other village.