The Poor Man, Dog and Cat

Out in the yard, the dog is barking hard, front paws up on a low wall. On top of the wall, the cat arches its back with its fur on end, glaring down and growling softly. Every household has seen it, so often that hardly anyone still asks why dogs and cats cannot get along.

Vietnamese people say the two animals dislike each other because of something that happened long ago. Strangely enough, in those far-off days the dog and the cat were close friends. Together they once made a very long journey and went through many hardships, just to save their master.

It all began with a poor young man who never had a single coin to spare all year. He found work as a sailor on a merchant boat, drifting from landing to landing for a meager wage. One day, at a riverside market, he saw people about to get rid of a dog and a cat, only because the two had sneaked a bite of rice from the kitchen. The two animals cowered, looking up at him as if begging. The young man was moved. He dug into his pocket, paid a few small coins and took them both home to keep.

A little farther on, he came across a few children crowding around a small water snake on the riverbank and teasing it. The snake writhed in fear. Feeling sorry for it, the young man paid a little more and asked the children to let it go. Then he gently carried it down to the water's edge. The snake looked back at him for a long moment before it slid away.

That night, as he lay on the boat, he suddenly heard a soft voice calling from below the side of the hull. The water snake from that afternoon had risen to the surface. It told him that it was a child of the Dragon King, who lived in a palace under the water. To thank him for saving its life, it gave him a precious jewel called băng xuyên. Whoever held it in the mouth could part the water and walk along the beds of rivers and seas as if on dry land. Then the snake led him all the way down to the palace of the king of the waters. The water drew apart on both sides like two walls of glass. The path was paved with softly glowing pearls, and schools of gold and silver fish swam around him like butterflies. The Dragon King joyfully welcomed the man who had saved his child. He held a feast for him that lasted several days. When it was time to go home, the king gave him a great deal of gold, silver and precious stones. From then on, the once poor sailor was well off. He built a proper house, then married, and lived in comfort with his loyal dog and cat.

But treasures often bring trouble. One day the wife opened the cupboard and saw a strange jewel glowing softly in the dark. She did not know it was a treasure from the Dragon King. Thinking only that it was pretty, she took it to a goldsmith to have it polished and set into a piece of jewelry. The moment the goldsmith picked it up, he gave a start. He knew it was something rarely seen in this world. Greed rose in him. He secretly made a fake exactly like it and swapped the two. He gave the fake back to the wife and hid the real one away.

Some time later, the jewel in the house suddenly lost its magic. Looking closely, the man realized his treasure had been switched. He was miserable over the loss, and could neither eat nor sleep. Seeing their master so downcast, the dog and the cat felt deeply sorry for him. The two animals whispered together, then firmly agreed to set out. They would find that jewel and bring it home to their master.

The road to the goldsmith's house crossed a wide river. The cat had always been afraid of water, so it hopped onto the dog's back, and the dog swam them both to the far bank. When they arrived, they found several fierce dogs guarding the gate. The quick-witted cat climbed onto the roof and yowled loudly. The guard dogs barked and chased after it, and its friend the dog slipped inside. Next the cat caught a mouse, gave it a good fright, and made it go and call its whole family. The mice came to gnaw through a wooden chest that was locked tight. They worked hard all night until they broke through. Then they dragged out a small silver box, and inside was their master's băng xuyên jewel. Overjoyed, the cat took the jewel in its mouth, and that same night it left the thief's house with the dog.

The way home was far harder. At the river, the cat rode on the dog's back again, and to be safe, the jewel was given to the dog to carry in its mouth. Halfway across, the dog snapped without thinking at a fish and missed. The jewel dropped into the water with a plop, and a big fish swallowed it whole. In a panic, the two animals followed it to a fishing hamlet by the river. As luck would have it, a fisherman had just caught that very fish and brought it home. When night came, the cat crept into that family's kitchen and searched among the fish. Sure enough, it found the jewel still whole, picked it up and carried it off.

On the next crossing, they were on the water again. Afraid that the dog would snap at a fish and drop the jewel again, the cat set the jewel on the dog's head, out of reach of its mouth. But a crow circling high above saw the jewel sparkling. It swooped down, snatched it and shot up to the top of a tree. The two animals craned their necks to watch it go and stood rooted to the spot. They thought all their work was lost.

But the cat would not give up. It thought of a trick. It went out onto the riverbank, rolled over and lay there as if stone dead, stretched out motionless in the sun. The greedy crow saw an animal lying still and thought it had found an easy meal. It set the jewel down on a branch and swooped down to peck. The moment the crow came close, the cat sprang up like lightning. The startled crow flapped away, cawing. Then the cat scrambled up the tree and grabbed the jewel back. This time the cat held the jewel tight in its mouth. It hurried home with the dog, and the two never left each other's side.

When the two animals brought the Dragon King's jewel home, the young man wept for joy and hugged them both. But as he heard the whole story, he kept praising the cat for being clever and quick. Time and again, it was the cat that had gotten them out of danger. As for the dog, he scolded it fondly for being clumsy and dropping the jewel more than once. From then on, he loved the cat far more. The cat got to lie inside the house, warming itself by the kitchen fire, with its rice served properly in its own dish and bowl. The dog still came and went in the yard, and at mealtimes its rice was simply tipped out onto the bare ground.

The dog felt hurt. On so many stretches of river it had carried the cat on its back. So many times it had rushed into danger. And yet, in the end, the cat was pampered while the dog had to curl up out on the porch. It began to sulk at the cat and growled crossly whenever it saw it. The cat knew very well that it was the favorite. It did not bother to explain itself, and just lay calmly licking its fur by the warm stove.

That old sulk from long ago was handed down through every generation of dogs and cats. That is why, even today, whenever a dog in the yard spots a cat, it jumps up to bark and give chase. And the cat quickly arches its back, leaps up onto a high wall and sits there looking down. That scene of the dog below in the yard and the cat up on the wall is all that remains of a long journey. It comes from the days when the two animals were friends, and crossed rivers together to bring the precious jewel home to their poor, kind master.