The story of the man who took the cat into the jungle to leave the cat there comes from a folktale story in South Asia. This story is short, but it is quite interesting and gives away a very strong message. So, if you are looking for folktales for kids, short bedtime stories for kids, short stories, moral stories, or folktale stories with moral lesson for adults or kids, this might be a better story to try. Enjoy!
Once upon a time, in a village, there lived a man. He was married to a lady and they lived in a small house. They had a little cat. And it was a female cat. One day, when the wife came to the kitchen, the cat was caught eating dried fish. The lady scared the cat away. Then again, the cat was caught doing the same. That time, she complained about the cat.
Time passed like this. At times, this cat brings her hunters inside the house and leaves them there. The lady never knew that cats show their love for humans by bringing food they feel precious. So, obviously, it is going to be a rat or a squirrel.
Not only that, this cat loves to sleep on cozy beds and boxes. Therefore, the cat was often caught sleeping on the bed or on clothes. The lady did not like that at all. And she really was not a cat lover. She was complaining all the time about the cat to her husband. But the man loves cats. So he kept the cat, ignoring his wife’s complaints. And most of the time, he corrected the mistakes or the bad things that the cat had done.
The cat loved both the man and the lady. Though the lady was not that kind to the cat, the cat did not hate her. The cat was just afraid of the lady. Every day, early in the morning, the cat went near the bed and said “meaow” until the man woke up.
Then the man wakes up and he goes to take milk from the cows. The cat follows him, rubbing its forehead on the man’s legs and purring a lot. After taking milk, the man brings the milk bucket to his wife. The wife then heats the milk. Until the milk was heated enough, the man used to brush his teeth and have a little wash. Meanwhile, the cat used to sit at the backdoor of the house, waiting for his loving human being to come and have some milk.
When it was time to drink milk, the cat knew it. The man sits in an area like the front porch of the house. His wife brings his milk with some sugar or jaggery. Then the man goes back to the kitchen and brings a coconut shell cup, keeps it on the ground and pours some milk into it. That was one of the happiest moments for the cat. That cup of milk was for the cat.
Then the man goes to work in his paddy fields and farms. So, the cat stays home, hunting rats from the garden and peeking behind bushes to catch birds or squirrels. Then, until the man comes, the cat either sleeps, chases a rat or a cockroach inside the house, or breaks or turns things upside down mistakenly in the action.
In the evening, when the man comes back home, the cat is always near the front door, welcoming him with a purr and rubbing its head against the man’s legs. The cat knew the time when the man would come home. Then the man goes for a clean-up and comes back for dinner. He never forgets to provide this cat with some of his meals. Then the cat sleeps near the feet of the man. This is the daily routine of the cat and the man. Time flew by like this.
One day, when the man came home from work, he saw that his lady was so mad. Even before he asked why, she started yelling.
“It’s either this cat or me. What is going to be?,” wife asked.
“Calm down! Calm down! Just tell me what happened,” the husband replied.
“Calm down? Do you need me to calm down? Do you know what this cat did today? He broke the porcelain vass my parents gave me when I came to live with you,” the wife said.
The man knew how much she loved that vase. And he knew that he was in trouble.
Then the wife told the man to take the cat away and leave it somewhere or she was going back to her parents.
“Take this cat into the jungle and leave it there. In a few months, she will have kittens too. I am not going to live here with annoying creatures like this.” The wife yelled.
The poor man did not have any choice. He needed his wife. The wife did not like cats. So, it was already hard enough for her and for the cat too. So after arguing and trying to explain, the poor man did not have any choice but to take the cat away. As his wife instructed, the man was supposed to take the cat into the jungle and leave there.
The next evening, the man took the cat into his arms. He petted it for the last time. The cat hugged his hand with its paws and started purring. Then the man put the cat inside a woven bamboo bucket and closed the lid. The cat was a little scared. But, since it was its lovely owner, the cat thought it was a game. So, the cat started to purr.
But the man did not play with the cat. He lifted the bucket and carried it into the jungle. The confused cat started to meow. The man went a few miles into the jungle. When he thought he had gone deep enough into the jungle, he stopped.
The man shook the bucket with the cat inside it. Then he kept the bucket on the ground and opened the lid. The cat jumped out of the bucket and went a few feet away from the man. Then he scared the cat away by making loud noises. The cat was already scared because the area was so new to her. And the cat was a little confused, too. Then her owner is suddenly scaring her off!
The innocent cat got really scared. It ran away from the man and looked back at him. The man yelled again and pretended to throw the bucket towards the cat. The cat ran further and looked back. The man felt so sad but he could not go against his wife. So, he turned back and started walking back home.
As he walked back home, the man realized he was lost in the jungle. All of the time, what he had in mind was the sadness of leaving the cat in the jungle. So, he must have forgotten the signs in the jungle to determine which way he came from. He tried to remember but he could not. And also, all the trees in the jungle are most likely to be similar. It was a thick, dark forest. He tried walking towards certain directions and signs he remembered. But he could not find his way back home. And it was almost an hour before the sunset.
Finally, the man decided to climb up a tall tree and see if he could see the village. Then he climbed up a tree and looked around. But the only thing he could see was the vast jungle. Then he climbed down and walked in one direction. He thought if he walked in one direction, following the sun, he would find the way home. Frequently, he climbed on the taller trees and looked around.
After climbing several trees, the man was exhausted. Then it was almost time for the sunset. The man climbed up a tree, thinking it would be the last tree he would climb. If he was unable to find the way back home, he would have to spend the night in the jungle. And the jungle was a dangerous place with fierce animals such as leopards, bears, and poisonous snakes. The man was starting to feel fear. Somehow, he climbed up the tree and looked around. But there was just the jungle. He was lost.
At that time, there was no hope. The sun was already setting. The man could not stay in that tree for the night either. So he climbed down. As he climbed down, he saw something. A black and white elongated ball was slowly moving through the trees and the bushes on the ground, not so far from him.
It was the cat. The same cat he left in the jungle was lost. The cat is walking in the jungle in one direction. The man hurried to climb down from the tree. The cat was sniffing and slowly walking right in front of him. The man realized the cat was finding its way back home. He followed the cat.
The man who tried to make the cat lose himself in the jungle was the one who got lost in the jungle. And how he found his way back home was by following the cat.