Clearly, I am a day late getting this posted, but last night turned into a unexpected celebration as I got word that my second novel, No Regrets, has been accepted for publication by BookStrand, with an expected release date of July 2012. Yay!!! I am so excited! So forgive me for being a little late with the fairy tale, and I’ll post more about my mainstream contemporary romance novel in a later blog.
The White Cat is from an old French Fairy Tale. As with many ancient fairy tales, they originated in oral history, and were stories passed down from generation to generation. The above version of the tale was retold by Robert D. San Souci, but there are other versions out there as well. As this may be a tale you aren’t familiar with, I will only introduce the story to you and then will let you google it to read it for yourselves, to discover the delightful ending.
This is not a widely known tale, but The White Cat has all the classic elements. A faraway kingdom, handsome princes, the search for a princess, talking animals, magic, and even some darker elements.
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This fairy tale begins with a King, reluctant to pass his crown to any of his three sons, the handsome princes. To buy himself some extra time as ruling monarch, he gives his sons a test. They must go out and find the perfect, most clever dog, then bring it back to him. He will pass his crown on to whichever prince brings him the most companionable dog, and it will become his amusement after he gives up the throne.
The three sons decide it is prudent to travel separately, and under assumed names. So they each take a different path and begin their journey. The youngest, and most handsome prince, travels day after day, purchasing each cute pup he sees. When he finds a more appealing one, he gives the earlier purchase as a gift to a villager, and buys the newest one.
Eventually, he becomes lost and wanders through the forest until he sees a bright light in the distance. Following it, he discovers a beautifully jewelled castle, and goes inside. He is surprised to see the castle run entirely by talking cats. He is taken to their queen, a resplendent white cat whose soft feminine voice startles him. She is charming and proves to be a most helpful host. They travel her kingdom together, and he is most happy.
As the end of his designated time draws to a close, he realizes he is very sorry to leave her company. In fact, he tells her, “Either make yourself a woman or make me into a cat” so he does not have to be parted from her, whom he’s grown to love. (How romantic is that???) But instead she presents him with a wondrous puppy and sends him off to complete his mission.
The sons present their dogs to the king, but he is still reluctant to part with his power, so he sends them out twice more. First for fine fabric that can be drawn through the eye of a needle. Then later, for the perfect princess.
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I’ll stop here to avoid spoiling the book for you, but you owe it to yourself to read it. This is a fairy tale, so you have a pretty good idea of how it will end. But getting from Once Upon A Time… to The End was a fascinating visual journey for me as I read it. And hey, I’ve always been a sucker for a talking cat! So I love this fairy tale.
Go to your local library and flip through a fairy tale collection until you find it. Or just visit kidgen.com and you’ll have a jillion fairy tales just one click away.
And as always, I like to wrap up my Fairy Tale Friday segment by reminding everyone that dreams still come true, every day. And happiness is often found in the most unexpected places and from the least likely of sources. Keep your eyes open to the world and people around you. Your happily ever after is just waiting for you to discover it!
