Qajary Cat

Many years ago, a cruel king ruled over the people of Iran whose only thoughts revolved around him and his court; an authoritarian king who was rich beyond the dream of avarice while his people held their stomachs out of hunger. The king becomes sick and lies on his deathbed. A miserable rain-soaked cat named “Babri Khan” together with its kitten accidentally enters the king’s palace and somehow arrives at his room. Seeing that the room is warm and cozy, the cat leaves the kitten under the king’s bed and intends to leave the house when it runs into the closed door. According to a local superstition, if a cat leaves its kitten underneath a patient’s bed, he/she would be healed. The next day, the king regains his health and develops a special liking for the cat, making it the apple of his court’s eye. This creates jealousy among the women in the court and, at an opportune moment, they dumped the cat in a well outside the city.