is on the tip of my wossname
There's a trope. The original way I heard it was that once, long ago, in the time when all stories happen, a cat came to live with a family of humans - a handsome, beautiful, intelligent cat. And he lived with them for years and years and was a good companion, caught mice, and settled for warm purrs.
And then one day, the father of the household returns from work and tells his wife that something really weird happened on the way home. Something interrupted his journey - a rock thrown at his bicycle, or something stopped his car. And when he got out to inspect the damage, a voice addressed him by name from the long grasses at the side of the road. "Hey, you, mister! Tell your cat that [name] is dead."
The family look at the cat, who's sat upright. And then in human speech, the cat says, "[Name] is dead? Then I'm king of the cats!" And he leaps out the window and rushes off into the countryside and is never seen again.
It's always a cat, usually one who comes out of nowhere and lives among humans. Everything seems relatively normal in the way of households and cats. Then a member of the family is given a message by another entity about a death. And with the news of the death, the cat speaks up exclaiming about their new status, and leaves the family then and there.
I've heard a version called "Kurremurri is dead" but can't find it with The Google: "Hey you, Spratt! Tell your cat Kurremurri is dead!" And the cat (who was a dwarf who was kicked out of his community because a bully married his beloved) gets up and dances, singing "Kurremurri is dead! Kurremurri is dead! Thank you for food! Thank you for bread! But Gatto and Ulva this night will be wed!" Gatto being the Italian word for 'cat' of course.
The other example I recall of it is in Diane Duane's "A Wizard Abroad" where a kitten (who's a bard and possibly a prophet) is brought the news that the Queen of Cats is dead. And she sits up and announces, "But then, I'm the Queen of Cats!" and leaps out the window forthwith.
What's this trope called? Surely it's got to be a trope of some kind.
And then one day, the father of the household returns from work and tells his wife that something really weird happened on the way home. Something interrupted his journey - a rock thrown at his bicycle, or something stopped his car. And when he got out to inspect the damage, a voice addressed him by name from the long grasses at the side of the road. "Hey, you, mister! Tell your cat that [name] is dead."
The family look at the cat, who's sat upright. And then in human speech, the cat says, "[Name] is dead? Then I'm king of the cats!" And he leaps out the window and rushes off into the countryside and is never seen again.
It's always a cat, usually one who comes out of nowhere and lives among humans. Everything seems relatively normal in the way of households and cats. Then a member of the family is given a message by another entity about a death. And with the news of the death, the cat speaks up exclaiming about their new status, and leaves the family then and there.
I've heard a version called "Kurremurri is dead" but can't find it with The Google: "Hey you, Spratt! Tell your cat Kurremurri is dead!" And the cat (who was a dwarf who was kicked out of his community because a bully married his beloved) gets up and dances, singing "Kurremurri is dead! Kurremurri is dead! Thank you for food! Thank you for bread! But Gatto and Ulva this night will be wed!" Gatto being the Italian word for 'cat' of course.
The other example I recall of it is in Diane Duane's "A Wizard Abroad" where a kitten (who's a bard and possibly a prophet) is brought the news that the Queen of Cats is dead. And she sits up and announces, "But then, I'm the Queen of Cats!" and leaps out the window forthwith.
What's this trope called? Surely it's got to be a trope of some kind.