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Barlow 71. DE CATTA IN FEMINAM MUTATA

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Catta quaedam delicium erat formosi cuiusdam Adolescentis Veneremque oravit ut in feminam mutaret. Dea, miserta cupiditatis Adolescentuli, convertit Cattam in puellam. Quam, cum longe speciosa esset, Amator domum abduxit. Venus, experiri cupiens si, mutata facie, mutasset et mores, in medium constituit Murem. Quem cum illa aspexit, oblita formae, Murem ut caperet persecuta est. Qua super re indignata, Venus denuo eam in priorem Cattae formam mutavit.  

Translation: A certain cat was the delight of a certain handsome young man, and he prayed to Venus that she change the cat into a woman. The goddess pitied the young man's desire and changed the cat into a girl. As she was exceedingly beautiful, the lover took her home. Venus, wanted to test if her character had also been altered with the alteration of her appearance, set a mouse in their midst. When she saw that mouse, she forget about her form and chased that mouse in order to catch it. Venus, appalled by this behavior, changed her back into her earlier cat's form. The fable indicates that a good-for-nothing, even if he changes his outward form, nevertheless retains the same character.

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.