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47 The Trained Cat and the Rabbi’s Wise Daughter T O L D B Y M O R D E K H A I I B N E Z R A T O YA A C O V AV I T S U K In a large city—the capital—there lived a king. This king was a wise man and surrounded himself with sages and intelligent people from all over his realm. Once a dispute broke out among them, and the king asked his advisers : “Which is better: A man who is born with control of his impulses or a man who has been taught to curb his impulses?” His Christian adviser spoke up: “Your Majesty, if you educate a person to do good, he will remain good all his life, even if his character is bad.” The Jewish adviser offered a different answer: “If a person is born with good impulses, he will remain good all his life. But if, on the contrary , he is born with a disposition toward evil, he can be educated to some extent. Nevertheless, he will remain wicked all his life.” The king replied: “Fine! Now prove your words in action. You have thirty days to demonstrate your claims. If you fail to provide a concrete example you will pay with your lives!” “Gladly,” said the priest. “I will prove my point in action.” But the rabbi bit his tongue and regretted what he had said. Beside himself with grief, he returned home dejected and depressed. This rabbi had an only daughter. When she saw the changed expression on his face she tried to talk to him. But all her attempts to find out why he was so sad and depressed were in vain. One Saturday evening, after the rabbi finished reciting the Havdalah,* his daughter came up and begged him to tell her what had clouded his mood. Finally, the rabbi told her about the incident with the king and the dispute with the priest and that he could not think of a way to provide the king with a concrete example that would prove his contention. * Ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath. 397 “Cheer up!” his daughter said. “God will show us a way, and we will prove to the king that you spoke rightly.” The next day, the daughter disguised herself as a handsome young man, put together a bundle of merchandise and went to the Christian quarter . She strolled outside the priest’s palace, from which emerged gay laughter and merriment. The “young man” went up to the gate and offered his wares to the people in the courtyard. The priest’s daughter, who was watching from the window, spied the handsome young man. “How handsome he is,” she thought. “I should go down and invite him inside.” So she went downstairs . “Fair young man, what kind of goods are you selling? Show me your wares!” And she invited him into the courtyard. The “young man” spread out his wares so that the priest’s daughter could choose whatever she wished. While she was examining his offerings , he looked about to find out what was going on in the priest’s palace. And what did his eyes see and ears hear? There in the courtyard servants were racing back and forth, trays of food in their hands, bringing tables and setting them with all sorts of delicacies and dainties. The guests, drawn from all classes, sat in a large circle. The priest appeared, dressed in his splendid robes, a large golden crucifix on his chest. The assembled company welcomed him respectfully. When all had fallen silent, he said to them, “Gentlemen, I have invited you here to show you a wonder of nature. What you are about to see, you have never seen before. This is how I am going to prove my claim to his majesty the king.” The priest fell silent. The company waited in tense expectation. He clapped his hands three times. A white cat entered the courtyard, standing erect on its hind legs. In its forepaws it carried a tray laden with food, which it offered to all the guests. The guests marveled at the cat’s behavior and praised the priest’s wisdom and the spectacle of the trained cat. After the priest’s daughter selected what she wanted and paid the handsome young peddler for them, “he” left the courtyard and returned home. There she changed her clothes and was...

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