The Cat That Lived a Million Tim

Dear Toastmasters and most welcome guests,

How many lives do you think a cat could have? (wait a sec for response) Yeah, people say that cat have 9 lives. But today I am going to tell a story about a cat who have lived million times.

Once upon a time, there was a tiger striped cat. He was a king's cat. The king was great at war, and was always at war. He loved the cat. He put the cat in a beautiful cage and took him to war. One day, the cat was hit by a flying arrow and died. The king cried and cried. He stopped the war and buried the cat in the garden of his castle.

Soon after, the cat was reborn. This time, he was a sailor's cat. The sailor loved the cat. He took the cat to all the seas of the world, and all the ports of the world. One day, the cat fell off the boat. The cat could not swim and died. The sailor embraced the cat and wailed in a loud voice. And, he buried the cat under the tree in a far-away port.

Soon after, the cat was reborn. This time, he was a magician's cat. The magician loved the cat. He worked in a circus. The magician put the cat inside a box everyday and cut the box in half with a saw. Then, he removed the cat, still in one piece. He received applause in every performance. One day, the magician made a mistake, he really cut the cat in half. The magician wailed in a loud voice. And, he buried the cat behind the circus tent.

Soon after, the cat was reborn again. This time, the cat was the cat of a lonely grandmother. The grandmother loved the cat. She looked outside everyday from a small window, holding the cat in her arms. The cat was asleep all the day on the top of the grandmother's lap. Time passed, and the cat died of old age. The grandmother embraced the cat and cried all day. The grandmother buried the cat under a tree in the yard.

Soon after, the cat was reborn again. This time, the cat was a little girl's cat. The girl piggy-backed the cat and slept with the cat. When she cried, she wiped her tears on the cat's back. One day, the holster to keep the cat secure wound around the cat's neck and the cat died. The girl cried all day and buried the cat under a tree in the yard.

The cat had no fear of dying. Year after year, the cat died a million times, and reborn a million times. A million people adored the cat, And a million people cried when that cat died.

However, the cat never cried, not even once.

Once, the cat wasn't anyone's cat. He was a stray cat. The cat was able to be his own cat for the first time. Since he was a great tiger-striped cat, all the girl cats wanted to be the cat's wife. There were cats that gave him huge fish. Some gave him premium mice. Other cats licked his tiger fur for him. The cat cared for no one and only loved himself . The cat said to all of them— "I've died a million times! "

But there was just one beautiful white cat that didn't even look at the cat. The cat went over next to the white cat, and told her, "I died a million times!"

The white cat just said, "Oh."

The cat became slightly upset. The next day, and the day after that, The cat went over to the white cat and told her, "You haven't even finished one life."

The white cat just said, "Oh."

One day, the cat did a funny jump in front of the white cat, and said, "I once was a cat for a circus."

The white cat just said, "Oh."

Then suddenly he asked the white cat, "Can I be at your side?"

The white cat said, "Yes."

The cat stayed by the white cat happily for a long time. And they had many cute kittens. The cat no longer dared to say "I've died a million times!" The cat loved the white cat and all the many kittens even more than himself. The cat thought that he wanted to live forever with the white cat.

As time passed, the kittens grew up and all went away.

The cat, satisfied, said, "They became great stray cats now."

The white cat said, "Yes," The white cat had got old and become a grandmother cat.

One day, the white cat quietly stopped moving next to the cat.

The cat cried for the first time in his life.

Night came, morning came,

Night came again, and morning came again.

The cat cried a million times.

Morning came, night came—

and one afternoon, the cat stopped crying.

The cat, next to the white cat, quietly stopped moving.

The cat never came back to life again.

This story is from a picture book I bought for my 3 year old son. I believe it is surely written for all of us regardless of the age. Each of us can make our own interpretations. To me, the lived one million times. Every owner loved him but he cares for no one and liked only himself. Was he happy? I doubt it. He lived only one life with the white cat, he loved the white cat and kittens more than himself. He felt most alive when love someone else. He felt fulfilled an complete in his last life. He did not want to came back to life again.

PS.This is my A1 sppech delivered in Pudong Toastmasters Club.

Project 1 from Toastmaster Storytelling manual: The Folk Tale

Time: 7 - 9 minutes

Objectives:

?To tell a folk tale that is entertaining and enjoyable for a specific age group.

?To use vivid imaginary and voice to enhance the tale.

PPS: 关于这个故事《活了100万次的猫》，是我最近读过最感人的绘本故事。关于这个故事， 这里有全文。

PPPS:

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