Domingo’s Cat E:232
A Brazilian version of Puss in Boots. When a poor man is forced to sell all that he owns in order to feed himself, he refuses to part with his beloved cat, and in return for his loyalty, his cat sets out to make his master rich. (duration 9 minutes). An episode from storytelling podcast, Journey with Story.
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Domingo’s Cat
Episode 232
June 29,2023
If someone told you that you had to give away everything you owned except for ONE thing – what would that one thing be? What is the one thing that belongs to you that you would never ever want to part with?
Hello everyone. I’m Kathleen Pelley. Welcome to Journey with Story. That is a hard question to answer, isn’t it? I am not quite sure myself what one thing I would choose to keep – I have two dogs, so would be impossible to choose which one to keep. What about you – how did you answer, I wonder.
Well today’s story is an old folktale from a country called Brazil – hello to all our wonderful listeners in Brazil. And it is about a very poor man who must sell every single thing he owns until he is left with…. his cat – that he refuses to part with and so in return for his loyalty his cat rewards him. Let’s hear how he does that.
But first – huge thanks to all our loyal listeners who have been rating reviewing and sharing this podcast with others and to all of you who have been sending in your listeners’ drawings inspired by our stories. If you haven’t already done so, take a moment to rate, review and share this podcast with others and send us your drawings to www.journeywithstory.com.
Let’s take a journey with Domingo’s Cat.
Once upon a time there was a man who was very poor – so poor that he had to sell one thing after another just to put a loaf of bread on the table and a log of wood on the fire.
But after some time, he had sold every single one of his possessions except…his beloved cat.
“Dearest Cat,” he said, “no matter what happens, never fear, I will never ever part with you. I would rather starve than live my life without you.”
“O good master Domingo,” replied his cat, “do not worry. As long as you have me, I promise you will never starve. This very day, I am going out into the world to make a fortune for us both.”
And so, the cat set off on his quest to make their fortune. First, he went out into the jungle and dug and dug. Every time he dug; he turned up silver pieces. He took a number of these home to his master so that he could purchase food, and the rest of the pieces of silver, he carried to the king.
The following day, the cat dug up pieces of gold and carried them to the king. And on the next day he dug up pieces of diamonds and carried these off to the king.
“Where do you get these rich gifts? Who is sending me such wonderful presents?” asked the king.
“It is my master, Domingo,” explained the cat.
Now the king had a beautiful daughter, and he thought to himself that this man, Domingo, must surely be the richest man in the whole kingdom. And he decided then and there that he must have his daughter marry this man. When he suggested this to the cat, he at once offered to make all the necessary arrangements. Then he set off home as fast as he could to tell his master the good news.
“But, but…I haven’t any clothes to wear at the wedding,” blurted Domingo.
“Never mind about that,” said the cat. “Just leave it all to me,”
Then the cat hurried back to the king and said, “O, your majesty – such a tragedy has occurred. There has been a dreadful fire in the tailor’s shop where they were making the wedding garments for my master, Domingo. The tailor and all his staff were lucky to escape with their lives, but the entire outfit for my master has been destroyed. I wonder, could your majesty lend him something to wear for his wedding?”
Of course, the king only wanted the best for his beloved daughter on her wedding day, and so he sent the finest garments from his wardrobe to Domingo.
But even dressed in all his finery, Domingo still felt that something was missing for this wedding day.
“I have no palace to which to take my bride,” he said to the cat.
“Never mind. I’ll see about it at once,” replied the cat.
Then the cat went into the forest to the great castle where the giant dwelt. He marched straight up to the big giant and said, “O Giant, I wish to borrow your castle for my master Domingo. Will you not be so kind as to lend it to me a little while?”
The giant was very much insulted. “No, indeed, I’ll not lend my castle to you or your master Domingo or anybody else,” he shouted in his most terrible voice.
“Very well, then,” replied the cat, and in a twinkling of an eye, he changed the giant into a tiny mouse, who scurried off squeaking and squealing a terrible fright.
And so, when Domingo and his bride came sailing down the river to the garden gate in the royal barge, they saw the cat singing in the window. Domingo carried his bride over the threshold of the grand castle, where they discovered what a wonderful place it was with one room decked with sliver, one room decked with gold, and one room decked with diamonds.
From that day forward Domingo and his bride never wanted for anything and made sure to share what they could with those who were not so fortunate as themselves.
As for Domingo’s cat – they never saw him again. Perhaps he disappeared into the jungle to make some other poor man rich. Why maybe he might come marching your way one day. Who knows?
I wonder if the cat did meet another poor man or woman and how he made them rich? That would be a good story to write – for all our listeners who love to write – and if this story painted some pictures in your mind – do get busy drawing and send us to them so we can share and give you a shout out on the show. Send them to www.journeywithstory.com
Cheerio then, join me next time for Journey with Story.
