Sir W. Gore Ouseley quotes the following from a Persian MS.
In the tenth century one Keis, the son of a poor widow of Siraf, embarked for India with his sole property, a cat. There he fortunately arrived at a time when the palace was so infested by rats and mice that they invaded the king's food, and persons were employed to drive them from the royal banquet. Keis produced his cat; the noxious animals soon disappeared, and magnificent rewards were bestowed on the adventurer of Siraf, who returned to that city, and afterwards, with his mother and brothers, settled in the island which, from him, has been named 'Keis,'or according to the Persians, 'Keish'.
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I believe they are speaking of this island. The story is one I found in The Living Age, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell, editors for the Making of America Project (1848: The Living Age Co. Inc ), vol. 18, p. 248.
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3 comments:
Great story. Maybe the Piper of Hamlin should have brought a cat with him.
Found a nice quote for you when I was browsing. Maybe you know it already:
If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air.
Doris Lessing
Parlance, I had not ever heard that quote and it is delightful. Shows that I need to read Doris Lessing.
Always forever and ever! Muahahahaha!
Purrrrs.
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