“In my country, we had different gods, there was Blackness and Bright One. Blackness was a black cat, without any spots at all, just dark. He was thick and muscular, all power. Bright one was a yellow and orange cat with spots and stripes and half-moons and every marking that appears on every marked cat. She was lean and light, all speed. Both of them sometimes had wings. Blackness sometimes took the head of a black vulture, and Bright One sometimes took the head of a hawk. They were brother and sister.
In the mixing places, where forest meets plains, there lived a crafty old shamaness. She lived in a big round house in the center of her village, and everyone else in the village did as she said. She watched Blackness and Bright One fly overhead on their way from one place to another. She watched when they each hunted, taking down as many gazelle as they needed to, Blackness in a single stroke, Bright One in a single burst of speed. She watched them fight outsiders, Blackness with a few strong blows, Bright One darting in and out with her claws. As the crafty old woman watched, she thought to herself that their powers would be a very great thing to have, so she made a plan to steal them.
Of the two, she wanted Blackness’ power more, but she knew they could both hurt her if they knew, so she had to be polite about it and trick them. She got the people of her village to work hard collecting food and make a big feast in her house. She invited both Blackness and Bright One to the feast, but she would not let the villagers attend, only her daughter and two granddaughters. Blackness did not want to go, but Bright One pointed out it would be impolite not to, so together they went. The villagers all bowed to them as they walked up the path to the big hut in the center of the village. Inside, they sheathed their claws and wiped their paws on the grass mat and laid down by the table, thanking the old woman for her invitation.
The old woman said she was very pleased they had come. She told them she wished to honour their greatness, and also hoped that the two, Blackness in particular, would consider protecting the village in the future. She meant this as a private joke, but Bright One was offended and jealous that she was excluded. The daughter brought out very large bowls of strong drink for them, and the granddaughters brought them each big leaves of spiced meats. The old woman sat down and all three of them began to eat. The granddaughters stayed close to Blackness, admiring his shining dark coat and long thick tail. Bright One was offended and very jealous of the attention being paid her brother, but she said nothing. As the feast continued, the crafty old woman had her daughter and granddaughters continue bringing Black One more and more food. Bright One was offended, but she suspected now that the crafty old woman was up to something. Still she thought the best way to find out more was to be patient, and Bright One could be very patient. She reminded Blackness that he must be polite, so he ate the food they brought him, although he was quite full and did not want any more. The granddaughters climbed upon him and stroked his head and scratched behind his ears, and he continued to eat the food they brought him, until he his stomach was greatly swollen. Bright One was pretended to fall asleep from the strong drink, but really she was awake, listening.
Outside, the villagers were all waiting with spears, to try and prevent them escaping if they tried. The crafty old shamaness was very pleased with how her plan was going. Blackness’ skin was five times bigger than ever, and she meant to cut him down the middle and tan his skin. She would use his furred hide to gain all his powers for herself. She approached Blackness with a very large knife behind her back. Her granddaughters were sitting upon his back and neck still, and her daughter took a hold of his tail, all to help prevent him from getting away. But Blackness did not have as much patience as Bright One. He did not like being climbed upon, he did not like being so full he could not move, and he did not like the way the crafty old woman was smiling at him. He was tired of being polite. When the daughter took hold of his tail, he lost his patience completely. His skin was stretched and he did not want it in the way, so he grew into it. He grew so that he was not fat anymore, but his normal muscular self again, only five times bigger. He lashed his tail and the daughter fell off. He arched his back and the granddaughters fell off, and he struck out with a mighty claw and knocked the old woman down and cut her in two. Then he picked Bright One up in his mouth like a kitten and left the house. He knocked the villagers all down and flew away with his sister.
When they were somewhere far away from any other people, Bright One told him he had been very rude, but her eyes shone. She thought it had all been very amusing. Blackness said that she might be right, but he would not go to any more feasts, ever, and he would knock the old woman down and cut her in two if he ever saw her again. The crafty old shamaness put herself back together, but was very disappointed, and very afraid because even though the conversation was far away, she heard Blackness and knew he meant his word. From then on Blackness was five times as big as any great cat, but no more polite.”
