Great wisdom often appears foolish.

Author: Lao She
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Lao She was a renowned modern Chinese novelist and playwright. This book collects seventy of his scattered short and long essays, divided into eight sections, generally arranged in chronological order of their publication. Lao She's works are known for their humor, simplicity, and colloquial language. From these essays, readers can once again appreciate the mastery of folk language demonstrated by Lao She.
The personality of a cat is truly peculiar. If you say it's docile, indeed, it sometimes is. It will find a warm spot and sleep all day long, carefree and indifferent to anything. However, when it decides to play, it may wander away for a whole day and night, no matter how much you call for it, it won’t come back. If you say it’s playful, it certainly is, or else why would it stay out for a whole day and night? But when it hears a sound of a mouse, it becomes incredibly diligent, watching intently without a sound for hours, until it catches the mouse!
When it’s happy, it can be as gentle and affectionate as anyone. It will rub against your legs, stretch its neck to ask for a scratch, or even jump onto the table while you’re writing, leaving small-shaped prints on the paper. It also has a rich and varied meow, with different lengths and pitches, avoiding monotony. When it’s not meowing, it will purr to entertain itself. But all of this depends on its mood. If it’s not happy, no matter how much you praise it, it will remain silent, not even leaving a single-shaped print on your paper! It’s very stubborn! Yes, cats are indeed stubborn.
Look, in a big circus, lions, tigers, elephants, bears, even foolish donkeys can perform tricks, but who has ever seen a cat perform? (I only heard about it yesterday: a circus in the Soviet Union did have cat performers, though I haven’t seen it with my own eyes myself.) This small animal is truly peculiar. No matter how well you treat it, it won’t follow you out for a stroll. It’s afraid of everything and always wants to hide. Yet, it’s also so brave. Not only can it fight small insects and mice, but it even dares to confront snakes. Its mouth is often swollen from being stung by bees or scorpions.
When cats start courting, they can keep the whole street awake. Their meows are so sharp and piercing that it makes one think the world would be more peaceful without cats. But when a female cat gives birth to two or three cotton ball-like kittens, you no longer resent them. It takes such good care of its children, even refusing to go up on the roof for a breeze. The male cat, however, is not as responsible. It pays no attention to its offspring. It either sleeps or wanders around the roof, fighting with neighbors whenever it gets the chance. Its fur becomes matted, and its face is covered in scars, looking quite disheveled. Fortunately, it doesn’t have the habit of looking in the mirror, so it still struts around, shouting loudly. It hastily eats a few bites and then goes back to fighting. Sometimes, it doesn’t come home for two days and nights, but when you think it’s already gone far away, it returns limping, demanding food from the kitchen.
The kittens after weaning are truly adorable. Though their legs are still unsteady, they’ve already learned to be mischievous. Their mother’s tail, a single feather—they’re all great toys for them, and they play endlessly. When they play, they don’t know how many tumbles they’ll take, but they always get right back up, running and falling again. Their heads bump into doors, table legs, and each other’s heads. Even when they get hurt, they don’t cry. Their courage grows, and they gradually explore new play areas. They come to the courtyard. The flowers and plants there suffer. They tumble in the flower pots, swing on the branches, and everything in their path is bent or broken.