Reading Notes: Rouse. Giant Crab, Part A

Image info: Savannah Cat, Image credit: Caster

In the story “The Hypocritical Cat” from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from the Old India by W.H.D. Rouse, the author writes about a group of rats being eaten by a cat pretending to be pious. One day, after noticing that a group of rats lived near the holes by the river, the cat devised up a plan to successfully eat the rats without having them run away, since the cat was unable to attack them all at once.
The next morning, the clever cat proceeded with the plan and, not far from their holes, it stood on one leg, toward the sun, and with its mouth open. The rats, all curious of the cat’s strange behavior decides to walk over to him and asks him about his weird behaviors. The cat, still acting, explains that he feeds off on air and worships the sun. The rat, too trustworthy of the cat, falls into its deception. With that being said, the following day as the rats walked past the cat, it took its time and preyed on each rat, swiftly and stealthy.
The chief rat, noticing that his group was getting smaller and smaller, decided to walk at the end of the line to see why the rats were mysteriously missing. Furthermore, as one by one the rats walked past the cat, the chief rat watched it out of the corner of his eye.  Next thing he knew, he saw the cat sneak up on one of his fellow friends, and in an instant, jumped up and slit the cats neck. The rats lived happily ever after that.
In conclusion, I think the most important event in the plot was how the cat was able to trick the rats into trusting him. I thought that the cat was extremely clever. However, a missing gap from the story that I’d like to fill in my version of the story would probably be how the cat came upon meeting the rats. For example, the rats could’ve moved in and interrupted his living area, therefore he decided to trick them. Moreover, it would make the cat seem like the protagonist of the story instead of being the antagonist.

Bibliography: 

“The Hypocritical Cat” by W.H.D. Rouse. Website: Freebookapalooza.