Reflect on This

In 1886 Mrs. T. H. James translated into English a Japanese folktale called The Matsuyama Mirror, which she published along with illustrations by Eitaku (1843-1890) [Tokyo : Kobunsha (Nihonbashi-ku)].  We found a free digital copy on Archive.org, but it's more fun to follow along with Scowl-Face as he reads the book aloud in the following video.

The Matsuyama Mirror, told by Mrs. T. H. James

(MPL Readaloud)

Okay, maybe listening to Scowl-Face read aloud isn't more fun, but you (or your young readers in your family) may read the text on the screen as Ol' Scowlly drones on and on.  It will definitely improve young reading skills, as well as enhance one's endurance to boredom.

What interested Scowl-Face in making this video was the music soundtrack composed specifically about this folk story by the library's composer, whom I call the Music Man.  His composition is called "The Mirror of Matsuyama," included in a series of compositions called Solo Koto.  You can listen (and see sheet music) here.

The story itself is a tribute to love and family remembrance.  The mirror reflects more than the person (or feline) looking into it.  That's something to reflect on, in and of itself.

My library has other readaloud videos available to watch.  They're well worth a look.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

I Had a Similar Experience Once

A Tale of Two Beasts, by Fiona Roberton, is a delightful children's picture book that looks at a human/wild critter encounter from both perspectives--the little girl's and the critter's.  The little girl thinks she is giving the wild critter a happy home, but the critter thinks otherwise. Eventually, they find common ground based upon mutual affections.  The book is available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.

I had a similar experience once.  Back in December, 2010, when I was hanging around outside Mooresville Public Library (mostly in the Kinder Garden outdoor program area), it was getting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit at night.  Assuming I was a stray, Kindly Couple, one of whom worked for MPL (the other volunteered here), thought that I might freeze outside, so they hustled moi into their car and took moi to their home.  I stayed for a couple weeks in their son's bedroom, which was nice and toasty warm.  They fed moi some excellent meals, I must say.  I was safe and secure.  But it wasn't my style; I'd been a free-roaming feline for years, and I hankered to return to the travelling ways.  One day, they let moi out the front door for some fresh air, and I was off in a flash!  They didn't catch moi again, but I decided it was nice having a human house to lounge around, so I moved into a neighbor's home just up the hill from Kindly Couple's abode.

Of course, I returned to the Library frequently to resume my then-newly established feline roving reportership.  It wasn't such a long journey, and I was accustomed to walking vast distances everywhere.  So I reported about all things Library-related (or anything else I felt like blogging about) until my retirement in March, 2015.  I'm pretty much an indoor kitty now, only roaming around the yard at my forever home (I decided, after all, that Kindly Couple were fun to hang around.)  As I've gotten older, I don't have wanderlust so much.

Don't get moi wrong:  I truly appreciated Kindly Couple's thoughtfulness back in 2010.  But we freedom felines don't like to be hemmed in; it cramps our exploratory natures.  There's a lesson there, minions.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat