The Rat-Catcher’s Son

A story of resilience and strength in the face of teasing and bullying. It is helpful for children that are witnessing or experiencing unfair treatment or feeling “less than” others. This story features a man who knows who he is and that he does important work, no matter the opinions of others.

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a poor father and his son lived at the edge of a great stone city. The city was governed by a wealthy Earl who had a tall stone manor up on a hill. His manor was surrounded by several other big stone houses where other wealthy people lived – and then further down the hill were the homes of the common folk. Here you could find a bakery, a butcher, several workshops, stables, granaries, and many many little houses for those that worked there. Most of them were stone, some were brick and then, on the edge of the town were the smallest and simplest houses that were made of wood.

It was in one of those houses that Bern the Ratcatcher lived.

Now you have to understand that long ago in that part of the world, cities were new ideas. In the past, there were only castles and then many huts for all the servants and farmers and others who took care of the king and queen who ruled there. The city in which Bern the ratcatcher lived was different. Here the Earl had the finest house, it was true, but the rest of the city supported not only him and his family but everyone else as well. So there were many buildings and roads and then people dedicated to taking care of those buildings and roads. Now since cities were new ideas, there was also a new aspect of city life that required learning and adjustment. One challenge was that the people didn’t know how to properly take care of the garbage. People would work in these stone workshops and houses and when they had something to throw away, it was often tossed out into the street. Occasionally someone would be mindful enough to transport the garbage out into the countryside to be burned or buried – but usually, it just piled up. And those piles attracted rats. The Earl could see that this needed attention so Bern became the city’s first Ratcatcher.

Bern was short and had a thick dark mustache and cropped dark hair. He wore a simple woolen hat and a threadbare coat that was in need of replacement. Bern was very poor as the trade of rat-catching was not a very profitable one. The Earl did pay him, however, and it was regular enough to keep up his small home and feed himself and his young son.

Bern’s work was straightforward but difficult. Catching rats in a city of stone took agility, cunning, and patience. It required that you thought like a rat, were determined like a rat, and then could move just a little bit faster than a rat. It was a very challenging job and Bern was good at it. He worked with his son Jaimen every early morning and evening when the rats were busiest. He and Jaimen moved quietly and stealthily through the city listening to every scratch, ruffle and scrape, poising their rat-catching lassoes and rat-catching cages. Every morning and evening they caught many rats. They brought them far into the countryside and let them go free. It took long hours and left only the middle of the day for rest and nourishment and at least for Jaimen … some fun.

This was the time when Jaimen could be with his friends and play like a child his age should play. He and his friends ran around the neighborhood, playing tag and kicking a grass-stuffed ball around on the cobblestones. Jaimen looked forward to this time of day when he didn’t have to walk quietly, speak quietly and then stand still for long stretches of time. It was his favorite time of the day. That is, until one day he noticed something.

Usually, Jaimen was so focused on playing the game at hand, he did not pay attention to his father. He figured his father was home resting or cooking or doing work around the house, so he never expected to see him in the neighborhood. And then, one day he did. He saw his father walking with a sack that he used to carry vegetables or home supplies from the market. Jaimen was about to call him and ask what they were going to have for supper when instead he heard his friend’s mother call his father.

“Hey ratcatcher – walk on the other side of the road! Bring no bad luck to my home!”

Walk on the other side of the road? Bad luck? What was she talking about? He looked back and saw his father dutifully cross the street where walked Torin the Ashman carrying a bucket of ash. Torin immediately scowled and said, “Keep that sack of yours away, man! I’ll have none of your rat’s curse on me.”

Then Torin walked to the other side of the street. The man didn’t even call his father by his given name!

This confused Jaimen and he stopped playing. He told his friends that he needed to return home to do his chores. And he turned around and walked slowly to the simple small wooden home at the edge of town. He let himself in and looked around. He saw the small beds, the tiny stove, and their rat-catching equipment. He sat down on his bed and thought about what he heard. Was rat-catching bad luck? Did people hate his father? Did people hate him?

Little Jaimen became very solemn indeed until his father returned with a sack full of vegetables. His father seemed delighted to see him and smiled broadly,

“Jaimen! Home so soon? Could your friends not play?”

Jaimen continued to frown and look to the ground. “What is it, son?” Bern asked, “What has happened?” “I heard what they said to you,” said Jaimen softly, “I heard them talking to you.”

“I agree…” said Bern cocking his head, “But the truth is, people only see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe. And many of the people of this city only see rats after we have caught them. They don’t see them in the streets. Most of the people of this city aren’t quite like us and patient like us and stand still like us and the rats hide when they are around. So they only see the rats in our cages and think, ‘oh, there is the rat-catcher—he must be bad luck, for he must be the reason for the rats.’

“We are the reason?” asked Jaimen in disbelief.

“I’m afraid some think it true,” said Bern with a shrug, “As I said some people are fearful and wish to place the blame somewhere, so they blame the ratcatcher for the rats.”

“Father that’s not fair!” said Jaimen who now felt very upset at this, “We work hard to take the rats away! You have to tell them—you have to make them understand!”

“Oh, I’ve tried to tell them,” said his father, “But it was no use. No, I realized that I cannot change what people believe no matter how unfair it may be.”

This only made Jaimen more upset. It wasn’t fair that people thought the way they thought and believed what they believed. At that moment he didn’t want his father to be a ratcatcher any more— he didn’t want anyone to call his father names or tell him to cross the road.

“Father,” he said softly, “We should stop catching them. We should just leave the rats alone and then the people will understand. Then they will see the rats in the streets and they’ll come to us and beg us to catch them.”

Bern put his arm around Jaimen and was quiet for a moment. “I know this is hard to understand,” he finally said, “But our work is important. The city needs me to do my job. And the truth is I love my work. I’m good at it Jaimen—very good at it. So I do not let other people’s fears get in my way.”

This was not satisfying to Jaimen – he thought about Torin and Peter’s mother and it still stung to hear them say such things to his father.

“But the names…” he said slumping down.

“Yes the names,” said Bern with a sigh, “They do hurt, I’ll not pretend they don’t. But I will not give them any more power than that. The people who say those hurtful things do not understand—and that is that. It is their problem, not mine. I know my job is important—very important—and I won’t let their fears stop me from doing important work.”

Jaimen heard the confidence and strength in his father’s voice and he looked up at him. He saw his father's sparkling eyes and felt his father’s power. Jaimen took a deep breath in and then felt something else. He felt pride.

‘Yeah” he heard himself say, “We are ratcatchers.”

Bern laughed out loud again and hugged Jaimen tight. “And we are good at it.”

And then father and son sat together to cook their dinner together. And though many in the city did not appreciate the work that they did or how they did it, they went forward in confidence and resilience. For they knew it was important and they knew they were good at it—and they did this important work, together.