royal otter

thanks oldbookillustrations.com {PD}

I was looking for more seasonal illustrations, but it's not every day you run up against a royal otter.  This is King John III Sobieski of Poland's pet.  King John was a great warrior (one of his nicknames was "the Lion of Lechistan") and effected one of the most notable victories in the Battle of Vienna.  Yet he seems as well to have been fond of books, art, and his pets, which included this plump fellow.  The otter originally belonged to a nobleman, who named him "Bug," let him sleep in his bed, and ate the fish he caught.  When King John took a fancy to Bug the nobleman didn't let him go without a struggle, but the otter was cherished in his new home.  Here's an article about that from the Wilanow Palace website (the palace was built for King John, and it's still beautiful).  And here is a link about a darling Polish kids' "make your own adventure" type of book asking "Where is the Otter?"