Here’s a poem that you might know; it was first published in 1805 in the book Songs for the Nursery, and Wikipedia says this:
The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs (1870)
But where did it come from? rhymes.org.uk gives a credible explanation:
The origins of the “Pussycat pussycat” rhyme dates back to the history of 16th century Tudor England. One of the waiting ladies of Queen Elizabeth I had an old cat which roamed throughout Windsor castle. On one particular occasion the cat ran beneath the throne where its tail brushed against the Queen’s foot, startling her. Luckily ‘Good Queen Bess’ had a sense of humour and decreed that the cat could wander about the throne room, on condition it kept it free of mice!
However, this may be apocryphal, as Wikipedia says the relevant Queen might have been Caroline of Brunswick.
Click on the screenshot below to hear a clip of Elliott’s song:
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From Futility Closet comes a novel tale of a London Cat, Kaspar, or “Lucky Fourteen”:
When a party of 13 dines at London’s Savoy Hotel, the management wards off bad luck by setting a place for Kaspar, a two-foot-tall statue of a black cat.
According to legend, when diamond magnate Woolf Joel held a dinner party for 14 guests at the hotel in 1898, one guest dropped out, and another predicted that the first person to leave the table would die. Joel left first and was shot dead a few weeks later.
To allay any further trouble, architect Basil Ionides sculpted Kaspar in 1927. When he joins a dining party, the cat has a napkin tied around his neck and is served like a regular diner, with a full place setting, champagne and wine.
Winston Churchill so admired Kaspar that he called for his attendance at every meeting of the Other Club, the political dining society that he founded with F.E. Smith. Kaspar has attended every fortnightly meeting for the last 88 years. Presumably he has a tell-all memoir in the works.
Here’s the statue in situ:
The book Cats and Us notes a bit more:
The first reader to send me a photo of him/herself along with Kaspar in his display case at the Savoy will get an autographed (and, if you want, illustrated) paperback copy of Faith Versus Fact (out May 17).
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This is “Inception,” a cat within a cat. I have a feeling I’ve shown him before, but that would have been long ago, and we’ve had considerable turnover of readers. And if you like this cat, be sure to have a look at this Miracle Kitten, featured here a long time ago.
And, as lagniappe, two readers’ cats, the first from Sharon Housinger:
This is my cat, Ajax. He is a Maine Coon.
Reader Andy Saxon won an autographed and illustrated (with his cat) copy of Faith Versus Fact for documenting his visit to the Bag of Nails “cat pub” in Bristol. He sent along a photo of his moggie so I could draw it in the book, and here it is (I don’t have its name yet). This will be hard to draw, but, like Ajax, it’s a beautiful cat:
h/t: Michael, jsp
Great to see Worf peaking over Andy’s beautiful cat’s shoulder! 🙂
Ha ha! I was going to say the same thing!
I knew if I didn’t day it there’d be plenty here who would! That’s what you get with a bunch of quality commenters. 🙂
The cat’s expression is rather Worf-like too! 🙂
We Readers are so, so fortunate, do you not brain, to be able to come online on an off – weekend morning and, there, laze with such lovely stuffs of which, over a cup o’java, to read such histories ?
I anyhow believe this.
Blue
PCC(E) is indeed generous with his time.
Inception’s markings must be an apparition of the Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, or some other cat deity or spirit, and thus proof of the existence of supernatural cats in the same way that the Image of Mary on a taco and Mother Teresa in a Cinnamon bun, etc., etc., proves the existence of anthropomorphic supernatural beings.
However, even though there is nothing identifying the nationality of this cat, in deference to the noble Polish Hili and company, it should be noted that Slavic folklore has some very interesting cat spirits and wights — well worth reading about if one likes cats and Polish folklore. Hope Hili would agree.
Re anthropomorphic apparitions, here’s a nice list of some Junk Food Jesus sightings: http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/people-who-found-jesus-in-their-food#.jyqWZMlEE. A Linguistic apparition: A friend once sliced a raw eggplant on the axial plane and found that the seeds spelled out “Om”. But how to classify this: A local news station once reported on image of Bozo the Clown in the stained glass window of a Protestant church, replete with photo (which I was able to capture). Perfect apparition for an atheist, especially since the Judaeo-Christian god comes off more like the Gnostic Cosmic Bozo of the Pistis Sophia.
I note that a just announced Nebula Award nominee for short story is
“Cat Pictures Please” by Naomi Kritzer, published in Clarke’s World
It is available online and is a quite amusing monologue.
“… When I first woke up, I knew right away what I wanted. (I want cat pictures. Please keep taking them.) …”
That was a great story! I think I need to have a closer look at that author for recreational reading.
It does grow on one though I suspect it may not make sense to future generations. 🙂
I must admit the web does make it easier for short stories to be read though more difficult for the authors to be paid. All the Nebular short story nominees are online http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2016/02/finalists-2015-nebula-awards/
Kaspar ‘was once kidnapped by a group of RAF personnel. His release was negotiated by Winston Churchill’
I’m not sure ‘negotiated’ would have applied.
“You know that black cat we liberated?”
“Yeah?”
“The PM wants it back”
“Oh #@%&! Get it back – NOW!”
cr
Here’s a picture of the Kaspar in his display case (note his reflection in the mirror).
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://designrestaurants.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/kaspar-the-savoys-cat.jpg%253Fw%253D940&imgrefurl=http://blog.luxuryrestaurantguide.com/2013/05/02/new-club-inclusion-kaspars-seafood-bar-and-grill-at-the-savoy-london/&h=460&w=305&tbnid=QsyM07SiJLlfBM:&docid=YDaPK2iVetv8UM&ei=yAHJVr2vFJS0jwPyz7XQAw&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwi9s8z7yYfLAhUU2mMKHfJnDToQMwgvKBIwEg
Sorry, what I meant, as always, is that the reader has to go there and TAKE the photo, with proof that it is the reader taking it. I’ve clarified the rules above. Links don’t count anyway, thank God.