| THE LEGENDS OF BRITTANY |
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| CAT'S GOLD |
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| In the land of Saint-Malo there
used to be more fairies in the sea and on the shores than there were shepherdesses
in the moorland. |
| One moonlit night a group of fairies
were dancing round in a ring. Now there were twelve young men in a festive
mood who, when they felt warm because they were drunk, decided to go and
invite the beautiful fairies of the shore to dance a quadrille. |
| But while they were dancing the
fairies noticed that the boys were short of breath and that their legs were
like cotton wool, so they flew into a rage. By waving their magic wand they
turned the boors into six big black cats and six white female cats. |
| When they realised the poor cats
were mewing with distress, the fairies' natural kindness softened their
hearts, and they promised the braggarts they would restore them their original
shape provided that they weave a gold coat and a silver dress for each fairy
out of the mica of the shore only. |
| The task would not have been long
if the fairies had not added that they could weave only during the twelve
strokes of midnight. |
| The six toms and the six she-cats
started working straight away. When the fairies were dressed they touched
the cats with their wand and turned them back into human beings. The story
does not say if centuries had gone by. |
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| One thing is for sure, it is extremely rare
to see real cats wandering on the sea sand. Yet in Saint-Malo "cat's silver"
is the name for grey mica. When the mica shines with a golden glint it becomes
"cat's gold", the material with which the ceremonial coat of the Ladies
of the Sea was woven. |
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