Section 5. The Corn-spirit as a Cat.
AGAIN, the corn-spirit sometimes takes the form of a cat. Near
Kiel children are warned not to go into the corn-fields because
"the Cat sits there." In the Eisenach Oberland they are told "the
Corn-cat will come and fetch you," "the Corn-cat goes in the
corn." In some parts of Silesia at mowing the last corn they say,
"The Cat is caught"; and at threshing, the man who gives the last
stroke is called the Cat. In the neighbourhood of Lyons the last
sheaf and the harvest-supper are both called the Cat. About
Vesoul when they cut the last corn they say, "We have the Cat by
the tail." At Briançon, in Dauphiné, at the beginning of reaping, a
cat is decked out with ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn. It is
called the Cat of the ball-skin (le chat de peau de balle). If a
reaper is wounded at his work, they make the cat lick the wound.
At the close of the reaping the cat is again decked out with
ribbons and ears of corn; then they dance and make merry. When
the dance is over the girls solemnly strip the cat of its finery. At
Grüneberg, in Silesia, the reaper who cuts the last corn goes by
the name of the Tom-cat. He is enveloped in rye-stalks and
green withes, and is furnished with a long plaited tail. Sometimes
as a companion he has a man similarly dressed, who is called the
(female) Cat. Their duty is to run after people whom they see and
to beat them with a long stick. Near Amiens the expression for
finishing the harvest is, "They are going to kill the Cat"; and when
the last corn is cut they kill a cat in the farmyard. At threshing, in
some parts of France, a live cat is placed under the last bundle of
corn to be threshed, and is struck dead with the flails. Then on
Sunday it is roasted and eaten as a holiday dish. In the Vosges
Mountains the close of haymaking or harvest is called "catching
the cat," "killing the dog," or more rarely "catching the hare." The
cat, the dog, or the hare is said to be fat or lean according as the
crop is good or bad. The man who cuts the last handful of hay or
of wheat is said to catch the cat or the hare or to kill the dog. 1
