The cat who went to heaven

The cat who went to heaven

By Elizabeth Coatsworth, ill. Lynd Ward

This book won the Newbery Medal in 1931.

A poor young Japanese artist is waiting for his housekeeper to bring home something from the market for his supper. When she arrives she is carrying a basket, but it does not contain food. She has bought a cat to cheer up the poor lonely artist. But at that time in Japan cats are not considered good animals.

When the cat is let out of the basket, she is so gentle and well- mannered that the artist likes her anyway and the housekeeper names her Good Fortune. The artist agrees, hoping that good fortune will come to them because three colored cats like her are considered lucky.

But, no one buys the artist’s paintings, so the family goes with little food for days on end. But the little cat does not complain or beg for food. Each morning the artist finds the little cat in front of the statue of Buddha seemingly praying for hours.

Finally, one day the village priest arrives at the artist’s house to ask him to paint a picture of the dying Buddha for the village temple. The villagers put papers with various artists’ names in front of the statue of Buddha and the poor artist was the one whose name was left the next morning. The priest gives him an advance on the painting and the poor artist sets to work.

For three days he spends all day meditating on the various events in the life of Buddha, so he can understand how to make Buddha look in the painting. Then he paints the Buddha in three hours. Next he paints the people who came to watch while Buddha died. Finally he must decide which animals to paint receiving the blessing of the dying Buddha.

Meanwhile, the little cat prays each day and then watches the artist paint. When the housekeeper suggests the artist put a cat with the other animals in the painting, he reminds her that the cat is the only animal that never accepted the teachings of Buddha, so it cannot be blessed by him. But finally the persistence of the little cat pays off, and the artist paints her in the picture even though he thinks the villagers will not like it. The little cat dies of gratitude.

However, he is correct, and the villagers decide to destroy the painting because of the cat. But the next morning, just before they burn it, they discover that the image of the cat has mysteriously moved from the outskirts of the crowd of animals in the painting to the Buddha’s blessing touch.

This story shows both understatement in the actions of the little cat and how they illustrate her personality, and unusual insights in the results of the faithfulness of the little cat’s life in the eyes of Buddha. Both of these aspects of the story are highly appropriate for the time and place in which it occurs. The illustrations also highlight the same aspects of the story.

Coatsworth, E., & Ward, L. (1958). The cat who went to heaven. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.