Sunbonnet Soliloquy

By Jewell Ellen Smith

Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy

Victoria, our 11-year old cat, has a philosophy of life -- or, in her case, nine lives -- based on her encounters with man and beast.

“Both man and beast are born cruel!” Victoria declared before I could even explain why I wanted to interview her for the HEDGEHOPPER.

“If you meet a beast bigger than you are, climb the nearest tree! If you see a kid coming, get to the roof of the house and stay there! Especially, if it’s a boy!”

“Why, Victoria!”

“Don’t you remember the time y’all had that Easter egg hunt out here, and the house and yard was just swarming with children?”

“Sure, Victoria, I remember that. We enjoyed it, and it was fun for the children.”

“Well, it was no fun to me! And one kid -- I can’t remember now if it was a girl or a boy -- didn’t find a single egg! And you know why he didn’t find any eggs?”

“Why?”

“The whole time the other kids were searching for eggs that imp had a long fishing pole and was trying to knock me off the top of the house! That’s why!”

“I’m sorry about that, Victoria. Now, what I wanted to interview you on was the subject of ‘Mercy.’ And I wanted to tell you a Chinese legend.”

Victoria yawned. “The only legend I ever heard was the one about how bears got short tails. It’s important, too, for at one time all bears had long bushy tails.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“It’s true, according to the legend. The bears used their long tails to catch fish. They’d sit on the banks of a pond, dangle their tails down in the water, and as soon as a fish bit ‘em, they’d jerk up their tails and grab the fish. Then it happened!”

“What happened?”

“One cold morning, just before it was time for them to hibernate for the winter, a big bunch of mamma bears were down at the pond, fishing and gossiping. Mostly, gossiping. They didn’t notice that the water was getting colder and colder. But they did notice that the fish were not even nibbling at their tails. Finally, they decided to leave. But, they couldn’t move! Their tails were frozen fast in the pond. The only thing to do was to break off their tails and leave them there. So, ever since, bears have had short tails!”

“Victoria, you made that up as you went along! Let me tell you the Chinese legend about the goddess of mercy, and that will get us back on the subject that I wanted to interview you about in the first place.”

Victoria yawned again and curled herself up as if she wanted to go to sleep. I had to talk fast.

“The Chinese manufacture lovely porcelain figurines to represent Quan Yin, their legendary goddess of mercy, and since the U.S. has established diplomatic relations with China we Americans will be buying many figurines and --“

“Woman, I don’t know a thing about diplomatic relations or figurines! Tell the legend!”

“All right! All right!” I decided it advisable to relate the story in very simple words.

“The name Quan Yin means ‘one who hears, cries.’ And Quan Yin was a Chinese princess who lived many hundreds of years ago when the great wall of Chine was being built. Quan Yin had a happy and carefree life in her father’s palace. And then one day her father took her with him on a journey to show her the construction of the great wall.

“Here Quan Yin saw much misery and want. Mercy was a sentiment then unknown to the Chinese, but Quan Yin begged her father to have pity on the poor people who were working like slaves.

“When her hard-hearted father wouldn’t listen to her plea, Quan Yin ran away into the mountains. There, she led the life of a hermit, teaching the people mercy and charity and kindness, giving them good advice and curing the sick.

“Many years later her father became ill. He had heard of the hermit in the mountains who had the gift of curing illness. So he went to her, not knowing she was his daughter, and was cured.

“When the father learned the truth, he tried his best to get Quan Yin to return to the royal palace. But Quan Yin refused to leave and she continued to help the mountain people and teach them mercy. In time, the Chinese people called her ‘The Goddess of Mercy.”’

Victoria straightened up, stretched herself.

“That’s a pretty legend,” she commented. “Even better than the one about the bears. But I still say if you human beings want your children to know anything about ‘Mercy,’ you had best beat it into their heads when they’re little! Tell that to your HEDGEHOPPER readers!”

“Very well, Victoria. Thank you.”

“Tell ‘em to give lessons to their youngsters. And call the first lesson: ‘Have Mercy on Them that Say ‘Meow’!”

Published April 1979. Click your browser’s ‘Back’ button to return.