From the perspective of this story, the author portrays the cat as the antagonist while the dog seems to get the short end of the stick. The dog and cat depended on their owners to give them sufficient food to survive. The owners did not know that the ring they had gave them the luck. Perhaps, the owner only thought this was an overhyped superstition and underestimated the potential of the ring. Why did the owners not know about this luck? And how did the two animals, more inferior creatures, know the luck of the jewelry?
In the second paragraph, the author reveals that before this events of this story, the dog and the cat were civil and sought advice from each other. This is used to contrast of their relationship of what it will be after the course of the plot. The dog is wise by coming up with the elaborate plan to reclaim the lucky ring from the chest. However, form the details of his plan, I wonder the intention of his plan. Why does the dog have any part within the elaborate plan? Is the dog being selfish and is he scared to risk his own life? The fact that the dog assists the cat across the river indicates this is not the case however. The cat, in fact takes advantage of this plan by essentially taking all the credit for returning the ring. It seems that the humans judge the dog for it seeming like he did not contribute in the scheme. This relationship is strange as it implies that the dog and cat can verbally communicate with each other. I wonder why the human doesn't reward both of the animals if they now have ample resources anyway now. The end of the story emphasizes that heroic actions cannot be executed without a well-thought plan or a scheme. And with that said, both deserve ample credit.
Dog versus Cat, Wikimedia
Bibliography: R. Wilhelm, Chinese Fairy Tales: Why Dog and Cat are Enemies (link)
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