The Cat and the Rooster

The Cat and the Rooster. When the cat had caught the rooster, he then accused him of being an unruly creature, making a ruckus in the nighttime which did not allow the humans to get their rest. The rooster justified himself by saying that this is what the humans wanted him to do, since he was waking them up for the chores that had to be done. Then the cat said, "You are a wicked creature who cannot restrain your desire for your mother or your sisters, mingling together with them wantonly." The rooster defended himself by saying that such union resulted in the hens laing eggs. Then the cat said, "Even if you have no end of excuses, I still have no intention of letting you go."

Catus et Gallus. Catus, cum Gallum cepisset, criminare coepit quod esset animal turbulentum, qui noctu clamitando non permitteret homines quiescere. Gallus se excusabat quod id ageret ad eorum voluptatem, cum ad opera facienda illos excitaret. Rursum Catus ait, "Impius es, qui nec a matre nec a sororibus te abstineas, sed per incontinentiam illis te commisceas." Gallus se defendebat dixitque quod, ex huiusmodi coitu, Gallinae pariunt ova. Tunc inquit Catus, "Quamvis excusationibus abundes, ego tamen te missum facere non intendo."

Notes. This is Barlow 57 , which is Perry 16 in Perry's classification scheme. The story is of the same basic type as the fable of the wolf and the lamb at the stream, where the wolf kills the lamb despite the lamb's protested innocence of all charges (Perry 155).