Circe Redux
Her great-grandmother Circe had been known to turn men into animals. Why, she couldn't say, except perhaps that Great-Grandmother must have found animals to be better companions. But for herself, she preferred the company of men.
And so they wandered the island: fey-looking men who had once been gulls, beady-eyed men who had once been ravens, sullen young men who had once been crabs, even an awkward, goggle-eyed youth who had once been a fish. She kept them men as long as they were young and personable, after which they were returned to their former existance. There was only so much room on the island, after all.
One day a ship came by with real men, who had never been anything else except perhaps boys. They stopped to replenish their food supplies, and she saw to it that they received the best of everything, and perhaps a little more. And because old habits died hard, she turned the captain's cat into a sleek, regal young man before they left.
Certainly she was no evil witch as her great-grandmother was said to have been.
A month later, the ship came by again. She went forth to greet the sailors, and was surprised to see them grim and cold in manner. The captain came forward, dragging with him the youth who had once been the ship's cat.
"I'm sure you meant well, but Tibs has been nothing but useless since he became a man. His form is no longer suited to the catching of rats; though he can climb the rigging like no other, he does not care to follow orders; he sleeps all day, and treats his fellows with contempt. When last we were in Athens, there were nearly riots -- but let us not speak of that. Turn him back into a cat."
The man who had been a cat said nothing, but surveyed her coolly before going back to a lazy inspection of his fingernails.
To lift the enchantment was but the work of a few seconds. Then the ship sailed off again, and she was left thinking that perhaps there was something to be said for turning men into beasts after all.
And so they wandered the island: fey-looking men who had once been gulls, beady-eyed men who had once been ravens, sullen young men who had once been crabs, even an awkward, goggle-eyed youth who had once been a fish. She kept them men as long as they were young and personable, after which they were returned to their former existance. There was only so much room on the island, after all.
One day a ship came by with real men, who had never been anything else except perhaps boys. They stopped to replenish their food supplies, and she saw to it that they received the best of everything, and perhaps a little more. And because old habits died hard, she turned the captain's cat into a sleek, regal young man before they left.
Certainly she was no evil witch as her great-grandmother was said to have been.
A month later, the ship came by again. She went forth to greet the sailors, and was surprised to see them grim and cold in manner. The captain came forward, dragging with him the youth who had once been the ship's cat.
"I'm sure you meant well, but Tibs has been nothing but useless since he became a man. His form is no longer suited to the catching of rats; though he can climb the rigging like no other, he does not care to follow orders; he sleeps all day, and treats his fellows with contempt. When last we were in Athens, there were nearly riots -- but let us not speak of that. Turn him back into a cat."
The man who had been a cat said nothing, but surveyed her coolly before going back to a lazy inspection of his fingernails.
To lift the enchantment was but the work of a few seconds. Then the ship sailed off again, and she was left thinking that perhaps there was something to be said for turning men into beasts after all.