There’s a Chinese saying: “A dog catching a mouse is meddling in other people’s business.” It seems to reveal a long-standing disagreement between dogs and cats. Why is this? There’s an interesting fairy tale to this effect.

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Hundreds of years ago, a cat and a dog were cousins who ran a fur shop in Hongze Town. The cat caught mice, and the dog chased rabbits. They pelted the mice and rabbits to make fur coats, suitcases, bags, and shoes. They kept the meat for food, and sold any leftovers on the streets. Their business was booming, bringing in a fortune every day.

Mutual Suspicion

But the cat was suspicious, and the dog was equally petty. The cousins kept guessing and suspecting each other. Over time, conflicts arose.

One day, the dog was out chasing rabbits in the fields. The cat was home catching mice while cooking. At noon, the dog returned with a basket full of rabbits. The cat had also caught quite a few mice.

The dog had never caught so many rabbits before, and despite the hardship and exhaustion, he was delighted. But when he got home and saw the cat, he wasn’t very happy; it had a sullen look on its face. Why, I wondered. Did he have an argument with a customer?

In the past, by the time the dog got home after chasing the rabbit, the cat would have already prepared the meal. He’d set the table and poured wine, waiting for the dog to return.

What’s wrong today? What’s wrong?

Are there any rabbits with long tails?

The dog wanted to ask, but the cat seemed to ignore him. It simply stared up and down at the rabbit tail it had brought. Then it glanced at the mouse tail it had caught hanging on the wall.

The dog, slowly, seemed to understand. It too looked up and down, examining the rabbit ears it had caught and the mouse ears the cat had caught.

Neither of them spoke for a while, until the dog spoke first: “What’s wrong, cousin? Why aren’t you eating yet?” The cat ignored it, staring at the rabbit and mouse tails.

The dog went to serve the food and set the wine, then called out, “Cousin, eat!” The cat deliberately licked his lips and said, “My rabbit’s tail is full.”

The cat had been searching for months to find something to hold against the dog. Today, he finally caught it. He saw that the mice he’d caught were smaller than the rabbits, but their tails were longer. Where had all those big rabbit tails gone? The dog must have eaten them outside!

Are there mice with big ears?

The dog, on the other hand, saw the cat examining the rabbit and mouse tails. He slowly began to understand: “Why are my rabbit’s ears so long and big, while his mouse’s are so small? He stole the mouse’s ears at home, and now he’s suspicious of me.”

The dog said, “I swear, rabbits always have short tails. I think someone must have stolen the mouse’s ears!”

The cat quickly replied, “Mice simply have small ears.”

The two cousins argued more fiercely, and eventually they came to blows. The dog overturned the table, and the cat smashed the dishes. Even the stove was broken. In a fit of anger, the two cousins split up, and the fur shop closed.

Finally, the dog and cat swore a vow: When the dog could catch a long-tailed rabbit and the cat could catch a big-eared mouse, the cousins would reconcile. So, every day the dog chased rabbits, and the cat caught mice. The cat sneered at the dog, and the dog’s eyes turned red at the cat. They ignored each other and became bitter enemies.