Panthers Beasts
Journal Description
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
I’ve been to Cintra to look at the queen
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?
Run, fool, that’s not a cat but a panther!
– rare variant of a traditional folk rhyme
Panthers are dangerous predators found in forests and other woodlands. They are quick, agile and, like all cats, diabolically cunning. In many less-than-thoroughly-urbanized areas, folk still believe panthers are the stranded souls of those who die in their sleep. Superstition thus holds anyone perishing in this way should be dragged to the nearest woods and left there without a burial. The panther-spirit of the deceased may then devour its own body, thereby passing on to the nether realms.
This belief must be eradicated by any means, for it leads to epidemics of cholera and other contagious diseases born of rotting corpses.
Besides, it is patently ridiculous, given panthers are not necrophages and will not consume carrion of any sort. They prefer more spry and lively prey, such as deer or even humans, provided they are not ill and do not stink too badly.
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