White Fuller

Secret of Kells = New favorite movie

So, naturally, I am reading up on my Irish mythology now.

The white cat in the movie, Pangur Bán, is named after an Irish poem.

The poem compares the work of the Irish monk writing it and his cat.

I love this poem, not just because it is delightful to read, but because I often find myself in the same circumstance. (Though, I suppose my cat just plays with my toes instead of with mice.)

Oh, and by the way, the cat's name means "White Fuller". "Fulling" is something people did while making wool. It is the step during which you remove impurities (like dirt) from the material.


Pangur Bán

I and Pangur Bán, my cat
'Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will,
He too plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry thing to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way:
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Bán, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.