User:ZodiakCat

Behind the Name

In Japanese folklore, there is a story regarding why the cat is not in the Chinese Zodiac. The story begins with god calling all the animals to the plaza, at which point he tells them that the first twelve animal types to come to a banquet in heaven on New Year's Day will each become rulers over all the other animals for the year that corresponds to the order in which they arrive, and that the cycle will repeat from there. The cat, unaware of when New Year's Day is, starts asking all of the other animals when New Year's Day is and get dismissed by all but the rat, the cat's friend. The rat lies and tells the cat New Year's Day begins on the second because everyone is too busy to have a holiday on the first. Time passes(stuff happens, too, but none of it is relevant to why I chose the name) and the rat is at the gate feeling guilty about what he told the cat when he spots a crow. He tells the crow of his awful deed and begs the crow to tell the cat. The crow returns to the cat as fast as it can and tells the cat what happened. The cat rushes to heaven and arrives just after the gates close. From that point on all cats have chased rats.

I can draw a few similarities between myself and that cat. First, like the cat, I'm not normally aware of holidays unless someone tells me about them(Thank you, Google). Second, I trust my close friends to tell me the truth. Lastly, I consider lying to me to be the ultimate betrayal when done by someone close to me.

Since I needed a username and had recently heard the story, it was very easy to remember when I was searching my mind for an appropriate username.