A needy man in Galway had a wife and four children. One
morning, they gazed upon the largest rat that had ever set
foot in their
kitchen, as they sat down for breakfast. The rat jumped up
on to the kitchen table, and ate all the food that had been
prepared for
breakfast. The family looked on in amazement and as well as
being scared out of their wits!
No sooner had the rat come in and eaten all the food, did it
leave. However, when the man returned home from a hard
day's work
for his dinner, the rat also followed him in to the house.
A repetition of the breakfast fiasco took place, and the
rats stomach was of
course full.
"God help us!" "We shall starve to death" shouted the man
in his loudest voice.
The following day, the by now hungry man, bought a cat that
was known to be a good rat catcher. As usual the rat
returned to see
the cat sitting by the fire. What ensued was a monumental
fight and the cat just managed to survive with her life
intact! Again, the
rat climbed up on to the table and ate all the food, and as
usual left after it's stomach was full.
The sorry cat licked her wounds, drank some milk, and went
out, When the man returned home from work the following
night, the
cat had still not returned. "We're finished now," he said.
"That thieving rat will kill us for sure!"
Yet again the rat came to supper, munched the food and left.
These events continued for three days and three nights, but
the cat
had still not surfaced. On the fourth morning the cat
returned, and in tow was the biggest cat that any of the
family had ever seen!
The small cat sat on a chair, while the big cat sat by the
hearth. Both cats were given milk to drink as a token
gesture.
The cats drank their milk and the man sat down to eat his
breakfast. The rat arrived, but paused when it saw the big
cat. They
both launched themselves at each other in the centre of the
room. They fought in every nook and cranny in the house,
all day long.
At sunset, the huge cat finally managed to the kill the
equally huge rat.
Both cats had some more milk for their efforts in ridding
the family of the rat, and left the house
~ and they were never seen again.
