C is for Cat
Week 3 of the Alphabet Superset Challenge
Week three I’m cutting it close! As a cat lover, I of course needed to focus week C on my favourite animal. In reading up on cat symbolism in mythology, the cat was seen either as a good omen or a bad omen depending on the culture. For example, in Japan the cat was a bad omen and known to deceive others by dressing up as women. In ancient Egypt, they were respected and honoured (the cat-goddess Bastet was worshiped as a benefactress of mankind). Sometimes cats are trusted, other times they are not. They are viewed as cunning and with ingenuity. With this background in mind, the fairytale “Puss in Boots” makes a lot more sense.
In this tale, Puss helps bring her master out of poverty (eventually he marries a princess), thorough cunning and trickery. But she’s only able to do this when gifted a pair of boots. The loyalty and dedication of Puss towards her master is what inspired this week’s synopsis and cover.
The Fairy tale: Puss in Boots
The genre: Soft Fantasy
The Mock Title: Tales of the Cat in Smogtown
The Mock Synopsis:
Manchester, 1884, a city booming with industry and the dark smoggy coal it takes to power it. On a good day, you can see the sky lighten behind through sooty haze. On a bad day, your lungs take a beating. It’s far from the perfect place, but it’s the only place Gareth has ever known. Then one day, a strange darkness claims the life of his step-father, leaving him with just the family cat, Puss, and a pair of red leather boots.
Forced into an orphanage, Gareth sneaks Puss inside with him, unable to abandon her on the streets, and for a while she’s the only bright spot in a house full of bullies and misery. One day, Puss is discovered by the bullies and Gareth finds her tied up and paraded around on a make-shift throne, but when the bullies force Gareth to put the red boots on her little feet, she’s no longer a helpless little kitty.
Kicking tale and butts alike, Puss transforms into the death-defying, swash-buckling explorer known as Sir Puss of the Velvet Boots, and she has a mission: reunite Gareth and his long lost father.
Breaking out of the orphanage, Gareth and Puss take to the streets, tricking their way out of dangerous encounters with thugs and a mysterious darkness swamping the streets of Manchester.
It is because of this darkness, and the foul creatures it breeds, that Gareth was first separated from his family. The darkness is drawn to him, almost as if it’s targeting him, and it’s up to him and Puss to discover the cause and stop it before it’s too late. Only then will he, and Puss, finally find themselves a home.
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Next week: is D for Dragons! Stay tuned! Although I am going camping next weekend so this next entry may be late.
Alphabet Superset: The goal of the challenge is to make something every week for 26 weeks. You can pick the output, the style, the theme. The important thing is that you stick with it! Learn more about the challenge here.
