海外文化:英美民俗-黑猫

【英文原文】

摘要：由于猫生性狡猾，且喜欢在夜间四处游荡，中世纪的欧洲人将它们与巫术与妖魔联系在一起，对它们怀有恐惧和仇视。

Throughout much of the Middle Ages, cats were feared and hated. Since they are very sly and in the habit of moving about in the darkness at night, people used to associate them with witches and the evil spirits. Cats were treated cruelly, and even burned together with witches. People used to believe that cats took away a baby\'s breath by magic. Even now when mothers see a cat near their baby, they take the cat away because they think that the cat often lies on the baby, and then the baby can\'t breathe and dies. It was a general belief that witches and evil spirits especially liked taking the form of a black cat. Because of this belief, black cats came gradually to be looked upon as the cause of misfortune and ill luck. A popular idea is that if people see a black cat crossing the road in front of them, something unfortunate will happen to them. Some superstitious people believe that killing the cats does not necessarily mean killing the witches, for a witch can take on the body of a cat for nine times. It is said that Napoleon saw a black cat before the battle of Waterloo. He lost the battle, and the British won. Probably for this reason, the black cat is unlucky on the continent, but in Britain, it is lucky.