Their duty is to run after
people whom they see and to beat them with a long stick. Near Amiens
the expression for finishing the harvest is, "They are going to kill
the Cat"; and when the last corn is cut they kill a cat in the
farmyard. At threshing, in some parts of France, a live cat is
placed under the last bundle of corn to be threshed, and is struck
dead with the flails. Then on Sunday it is roasted and eaten as a
holiday dish. In the Vosges Mountains the close of haymaking or
harvest is called "catching the cat," "killing the dog," or more
rarely "catching the hare." The cat, the dog, or the hare is said to
be fat or lean according as the crop is good or bad. The man who
cuts the last handful of hay or of wheat is said to catch the cat or
the hare or to kill the dog.
6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat
FURTHER, the corn-spirit often appears in the form of a goat. In
some parts of Prussia, when the corn bends before the wind, they
say, "The Goats are chasing each other," "the wind is driving the
Goats through the corn," "the Goats are browsing there," and they
expect a very good harvest.
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