The cat who was a handkerchief

The reason JW knows how to say "handkerchief" in Bengali, even though his vocabulary otherwise centers around foods, is because of a story I loved to read when I was little. It was about a rumal (handkerchief) that turned into a beral (cat), and the adventures that ensued.

Yesterday I was surprised to receive an Amazon package with the message, "Happy birthday!" And, "This completes your order." My birthday was months ago, but it seems my parents decided to buy me The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray off my wish list, and it needed to be imported from India -- JW noticed the 265-rupee price tag on the back.

The book is full of poems, which I don't think translate very well, but I was delighted to find "A Topsy-Turvy Tale," a translation of my favorite story ("Hajabarala," transliterated, which is basically a string of consonants). Reading the story again, I see a strong early influence on my sense of humor. I also notice some political satire, which I don't really get, but I see it's there. Some parts are left out because they're meaningless in English, and Hiij-Bij-Bij is sadly renamed to Higgle-Piggle-Dee.

I went looking on the web, and discovered I am still semi-literate in Bengali! If you are too (or entirely literate, even) you might enjoy the full version (in PDF). Otherwise, a piece of Sukanta Chaudhuri's translation:

"Bother!" I said. "My handkerchief's turned into a cat."
"What's bothering you?" answered the Cat. "Now you have an egg, and then suddenly it turns into a fine quacky duck. It's happening all the time."
I thought for a while and said, "But what should I call you now? You aren't really a cat, you're a handkerchief."
"Please yourself," he replied. "You can call me a cat, or a handkerchief, or a semi-colon."
"Why a semi-colon?" I asked.
"Can't you tell?" said the Cat, winking and sniggering in a most irritating manner. I felt rather embarrassed, for apparently I should have known all about the semi-colon. "Ah!" I said quickly. "Now I see your point."
"Of course you do," said the Cat, pleased. "S for semi-colon, p for handkerchief, c for cat -- and that's the way to spell 'spectacles'! Simple, isn't it?"
It didn't seem simple at all, but I nodded to stop him from sniggering again.

After this comes Hiij-Bij-Bij, who falls down laughing at imaginary scenarios about people slipping on mud and eating clay instead of ice cream; the goat who asks to deliver a short discourse on "The Diet of Goats;" and a discussion of yams and who ought to eat them. In short, a masterpiece of Bengali literature.