Heritage > Myths and Legends > Ireland
The Giant Rat
County Galway
A needy man in Galway had a wife and four children. One morning,
they gazed upon the largest rat that had ever set foot in their kitchen,
as they sat down for breakfast. The rat jumped up on to the kitchen
table, and ate all the food that had been prepared for breakfast.
The family looked on in amazement and as well as being scared out
of their wits!
No sooner had the rat come in and eaten all the food, did it leave.
However, when the man returned home from a hard day's work for his
dinner, the rat also followed him in to the house. A repetition of
the breakfast fiasco took place, and the rats stomach was of course
full.
"God help us!" "We shall starve to death" shouted the man in his
loudest voice.
The following day, the by now hungry man, bought a cat that was known
to be a good rat catcher. As usual the rat returned to see the cat
sitting by the fire. What ensued was a monumental fight and the cat
just managed to survive with her life intact! Again, the rat climbed
up on to the table and ate all the food, and as usual left after it's
stomach was full.
The sorry cat licked her wounds, drank some milk, and went out, When
the man returned home from work the following night, the cat had still
not returned. "We're finished now," he said. "That thieving rat will
kill us for sure!"
Yet again the rat came to supper, munched the food and left. These
events continued for three days and three nights, but the cat had
still not surfaced. On the fourth morning the cat returned, and in
tow was the biggest cat that any of the family had ever seen!
The small cat sat on a chair, while the big cat sat by the hearth.
Both cats were given milk to drink as a token gesture.
The cats drank their milk and the man sat down to eat his breakfast.
The rat arrived, but paused when it saw the big cat. They both launched
themselves at each other in the centre of the room. They fought in
every nook and cranny in the house, all day long. At sunset, the huge
cat finally managed to the kill the equally huge rat.
Both cats had some more milk for their efforts in ridding the family
of the rat, and left the house ~ and they were never seen again
|