Pan Kotsky

Pan Kotsky

An old cat once lived with a man. In his younger days, he had been the best mouse catcher in the house. A tail had only to flash beneath a bench, and there he was. But age had slowed him. He preferred napping in the sunshine and no longer chased mice as he once had. His owner was a thoughtless man. Instead of thanking the cat for his years of service, he put him in a cart one day, drove into the forest, and left him there. “Perhaps you'll manage somehow,” he muttered, and drove away. The cat sat beneath a tree and sighed. “So much for gratitude. Well, I suppose I must begin again.” He had scarcely started walking when Fox appeared. She stopped at the sight of this unfamiliar creature. “Good day. Who are you, and what brings you to our forest?” The cat straightened his back. He did not want to admit that he had simply been abandoned. “Me? I am Pan Kotsky.” Fox's eyes widened. “Pan Kotsky? I've never met a gentleman of that name. Where do you live?” “Nowhere at present,” he answered honestly. Fox thought for a moment. “Then come home with me. There's room in my cottage.” Pan Kotsky agreed. She made him a warm corner and brought him food. He behaved with great dignity, walking slowly, smoothing his whiskers, and often saying nothing. Fox thought such silence suited a very important gentleman. One day Hare ran past. “Sister Fox, may I visit you this evening?” “Quiet!” she whispered. “Pan Kotsky lives with me now. He's very serious. Better not come without an invitation.” Hare hurried on and met Wolf. “Have you heard? Someone called Pan Kotsky has moved in with Fox. They say he's terribly grand!” Wolf told Bear. Bear told Wild Boar. By midday, the whole forest knew that an extraordinary Pan Kotsky lived with Fox. “We must see what sort of gentleman he is,” the animals decided. But they felt awkward about simply arriving. “Let's prepare dinner and invite him properly,” Bear suggested. Wolf brought vegetables and mushrooms for soup. Boar dug up potatoes and beets. Bear supplied a pot of honey, and Hare brought fresh cabbage. They cooked a great meal, laid the table, and then stopped to think. “Who will go and invite him?” Bear scratched behind his ear. “I'm heavy. If I need to leave quickly, I might not manage.” “I'm not very nimble either,” said Boar. Wolf coughed. “And I... er... have important business today.” Everyone looked at Hare. “Why is it always me?” he sighed. But he went. He ran to Fox's cottage and knocked. “Sister Fox! Wolf, Bear, Boar, and I have prepared dinner. Please come with Pan Kotsky.” Fox nodded proudly. “Very well. But mind your manners. Pan Kotsky doesn't like a lot of noise.” Hare heard only the last part and raced back. “Hide!” he shouted. “Pan Kotsky is very stern!” The animals frightened themselves before they had even seen their guest. Bear climbed a tree. Wolf hid behind a bush. Boar burrowed into dry leaves, and Hare crouched behind a stump. Soon Fox led Pan Kotsky to the table. The cat saw a bowl of food. Hungry after his adventures, he approached and purred: “Meow! Meow!” But the hidden animals thought he was saying: “More! More!” Wolf trembled behind the bush. All that food, and he still wants more! Up in the tree, Bear thought: This Pan Kotsky must eat even more than I do! Meanwhile, the cat ate well and stretched out beside the table. Then a mosquito landed on Boar's tail. Boar twitched it. The cat caught the movement from the corner of his eye. A mouse! he thought, out of old habit. Pounce! He leaped straight into the pile of leaves. Boar was certain the fearsome Pan Kotsky was attacking him. “Save yourselves!” he squealed, charging across the clearing. The cat was just as frightened by the enormous boar. He jumped aside, saw a tree, and scrambled up. But Bear was sitting in that tree. Pan Kotsky was climbing straight toward him. He's found me here too! Bear thought. He climbed higher onto thinner branches. One cracked, and he landed with a soft thump in a heap of last year's leaves. “Oof!” Wolf saw Bear fall and decided that Pan Kotsky had knocked him out of the tree with a single glance. Away Wolf ran, so fast that only his tail flashed behind him. Hare fled too, without stopping to discover what he was running from. Within a minute the clearing was empty. A frightened cat sat in the tree. A puzzled Fox stood below. “Pan Kotsky, why did you climb up there?” “There was a boar!” the cat answered. “An enormous one!” “But he ran away from you.” “From me?” The cat climbed down cautiously and looked around. “You have some very strange animals in this forest.” Far away, Wolf, Bear, Boar, and Hare gathered together. “Did you see?” said Boar. “He jumped straight at me!” “Then he climbed the tree to get me!” added Bear. Wolf shook his head. “So small, and so bold!” Hare thought for a moment. “Perhaps... we frightened ourselves?” Everyone went quiet. The next day, they finally dared approach Fox's cottage again. This time they did not hide. Pan Kotsky sat in the sunshine, washing his whiskers with a paw. Bear looked closely. “Is this the fearsome gentleman?” The cat yawned. “Actually, I'm just a cat.” Fox laughed. “I never said he was a giant. You imagined all that yourselves.” The animals exchanged glances, then laughed too. After that, Pan Kotsky lived peacefully with Fox. No one feared him anymore. Instead, they admired his grand whiskers, fine purr, and talent for noticing the slightest movement in the grass. For a long time the story was told throughout the forest, with new details added each time. But Hare always reminded everyone: “Before you fear something you've never seen, take a look for yourself. Sometimes the biggest monster grows not in the forest, but in your own imagination.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨