The Cat and the Crow (2022) Drawing by Edwin Loftus

Back before the dawn of our civilization, crow and man were great friends. Man was a hunter and gatherer, and crow cleaned up after him, warned him of the approach of danger and entertained him with its beautiful song. For of all of the birds that sang, the song of the crow was the most pleasing to man's ears.
Among the animals not so favored, was the cat, scorned and disliked, it lived on the margins of man's world, stealing what scraps of food and warmth it could. Its fur was course and greasy, and when it drew near to man, cat's claws would shred his clothes and scratch his skin for at that time cat's claws were always extended and very sharp. And when man would try to push him away, cat would hiss and bite him with sharp teeth until man took to throwing sticks and stones at him whenever man saw him. Cat saw its sorry lot, and how the crow was treated so much better, and it became envious beyond its small ability to tolerate.
One day cat saw crow playing on a rocky hillside. Cat resented crow's good fortune and cat's envy turned to hatred. He used the stealth and cunning learned from years of dodging the sight of man and the stones and sticks man would use to drive cat away when cat came to steal man's food. With these skills cat snuck to a point above where crow was playing. When crow looked around and noticed cat, crow realized that he had been too incautious. Cat could leap with its sharp claws, always extended and catch crow and kill him with its sharp teeth. Crow realized he could neither hop nor fly fast enough to escape from cat and he was deathly afraid.
Crow cried out, "Please, Master Cat! Do not kill me! I have eggs in my nest, and they will die if I am gone."
Cat saw an opportunity in this and offered, "I will spare you crow, but only if you give to me your power to gain the favor of man."
Of all the things he owned beside his life, what cat demanded was the thing most precious to crow and he was reluctant to let it go. But crow was wise and knew that man's favor would mean little if crow was no longer alive to enjoy it. Crow agreed and no sooner had he decided this in his heart, than crow's voice became the harshest of all bird's voices and crow couldn't sing at all.
Cat changed as well, transformed by the power it had taken from crow. Its tongue became rough and when it licked itself its fur became clean and smooth and soft. Its voice became high and sweet when it wanted that and, best of all, it gained the power to retract its claws when it wanted to, so its paws could be soft on man's skin.
Cat became man's companion and was invited into his houses. Crow lost man's favor and was driven away to live off man's leavings.
Crow still lives near man, and when he sees cats, he caws in his harsh voice saying, "There he is. There is cat the thief that stole my powers.
Cat lives near man as well, and often is invited to live in his houses. He still bites and shreds man's clothes and furniture and steals food when he can, but he keeps himself clean and sometimes he flatters man by pulling in his claws and sitting in man's lap.
But cat didn't get away with his theft completely, because crow is still smart and found a way to get revenge. He went to wolf and whispered in his ear, "I have an idea how you could make your life better and win the friendship of man." Wolf said that he would listen, and crow told him, "I call this plan, 'D - O - G and hers what you should do" ...

Related themes

CatCrowTheftRevenge