The Cat
antagonist · cat · the master of the house
Can arch his back, purr, and give off sparks if stroked the wrong way. Considers this a complete education.
How we meet them
Already installed in the best position in the room, as the master of the house.
Personality
Languid, self-satisfied and entirely unbothered by anything outside the cottage.
What they want
The warm spot, and to be acknowledged as the master of the house.
How they change
None, and he would tell you that is the point.
How they speak
Very little, and all of it about what other people cannot do.
How the story treats them
The hen agrees with him and the old woman cannot see him properly, so his authority has never been tested.
One surprising thing
His three accomplishments are arching his back, purring, and giving off sparks when stroked the wrong way, and he presents all three as qualifications.
If they were real today
He would ask what your job title is before deciding whether to finish the conversation.
Key moments
Can you give off sparks?
He lists his own three talents as the standard, establishes that the duckling has none of them, and concludes the matter.
“Then you have no business having an opinion.”
We and the world
He and the hen use the phrase constantly, and it never once means anything larger than the two of them.
Who they know
The Ducklingrival
A short conversation in which the cat establishes that the duckling's opinions do not count.
Characters like The Cat
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