Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hanygeorge38]

Dear Bud ,

How are you, I was reading this American folklore story but could not
understand its moral


The Black Cat's Message

I started down the road, hoping to get home before dark since I had not brought a lantern with me. I rounded a corner and saw a group of black cats standing in the middle of the road. They were nearly invisible in the growing dark.

As I drew nearer, I saw that they were carrying a stretcher between them. I stopped and rubbed my eyes. That was impossible. When I looked again, the stretcher was still there, and there was a little dead cat lying on it.

I was astonished. It must be a trick of the light, I thought. Then one of the cats called out, "Sir, please tell Aunt Kan that Polly Grundy is dead."


One more question what is meant by " I rounded a corner" ?


Thanks
_________________
hany

[CP]

"I rounded a corner" means "I turned a corner" = I reached an intersection and turned onto the cross-street.

It is bad luck for a black cat to cross one's path, so seeing a black cat in the street as it grows dark could trouble a superstitious person.

Cat's have nine lives, so the saying goes, so it is a surprise that Polly Grundy is dead. These cats are taking Polly Grundy away on a stretcher and ask the person to tell Aunt Kan (probably the human who thinks she owns Polly Grundy) that her cat is dead.

What a strange, dreamlike experience!
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[bluesonia]

this folklore just wanna to tell us "cat has nine lives"?
sorry , i cant catch what is meaning...

[CP]

Your quotation is just a snippet from an old folk tale about a cat's funeral that a woodsman happens to see on his way home. It is not the entire story, and it is not a story that I remember hearing or reading.

My answer merely gave you some American lore about cats and answered your question about rounding a corner.

To get the moral of the story, I think you have to read the whole story. I found a book containing the story at:

http://www.americanfolklore.net/spooky-southwest.html

Hope this helps.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb