My Saturday Evening Post: 1/14/23 “Evil-less Cat”

Here’s Benny comforting it out on a soft-cushioned chair. With the much-lauded Three Monkeys just to the left of his behind.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Butt don’t the wrong impression. Benny means no disrespect with his behind positioned monkey-way.

He’s actually quite taken with them. Before Benny’s nap, they introduced and explained themselves:

“[We] three wise monkeys are a pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’. [We] are Mizaru, covering [my] eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering [my] ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering [my] mouth, who speaks no evil.

There are various meanings ascribed to [us] monkeys and the proverb including associations with being of good mind, speech and action. In the Western world the phrase is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye. Outside Japan [our] names are sometimes given as Mizaru, Mikazaru, and Mazaru, as the last two names were corrupted from the Japanese originals. [We] monkeys are Japanese macaques, a common species in Japan.” Scholarly Community Encyclopedia.

“Seriously?” asked an incredibly impressed and slightly intimidated Benny.

“Yes. What’s your story?”

Benny thought for a second before answering hesitantly. “Well, back in the day, Daddy Robert picked me from a friend’s litter of about a dozen of us kitties.”

The three monkeys just stood there, with hands all over their faces.

That’s when Benny went to sleep.