Soyuzmultfilm
The Cat Who Walked by Herself
Based on the works of Rudyard Kipling
Screenplay: Ideya Garanina, Mariya Solovyova
Director-producer: Ideya Garanina
Art director: Nina Vinogradova
Cinematographer: Aleksandr Vikhanskiy
Composer: Sofya Gubaydulina
Stop... stop crying,
human kitten.
Darkness has never yet harmed anyone.
But I thought... you'd also left.
No, no.
My time to leave has not yet come.
I thought we agreed a thousand years ago that you would not grab my tail.
But I don't remember.
Well, then.
I shall have to repeat everything from the beginning.
Attune your ears, and listen.
and observe,
and attend,
and understand.
This happened,
this took place,
this came about,
in those age-old
in those far-off,
pre-historic times.
This was... the Earth's childhood.
and she just adored
moulding and colouring her tumultuous continents
and turbulent oceans
with the brightest,
most striking,
and wildest paints.
And in the greener-than-green forests
overwhelmingly loud sang
marvellous birds.
Happily fluttered astounding butterflies.
And the darkness hid all sorts of different animals.
And all of them were so wild
as only truly wild beasts can be.
The Dog, too, was wild.
He shivered from cold and howled from hunger
in the blacker-than-black forest
and snapped his whiter-than-white teeth.
The Horse, too, was wild.
He tossed his wild mane above the wild, tall grass.
And stomped his heavy-as-granite hooves.
And galloped
and flew
and raced like the wind.
through uncounted vast fields.
The Cow, too, was wild.
She lay in a warm silted puddle in a waterhole
and shivered with her whole body
because of the horribly awful rustling in the bushes.
And displayed the tips of her vastly long horns
to guard against her many enemies.
But the wildest of all wild animals was the Cat.
She walked by herself, completely alone.
Both in the hot, wonderful noon. And in the warm, pleasant evening.
And in the black, magical midnight.
And waved her wild tail.
Because all of this absolute wildness of the Earth
was awfully dear to her.
Of course the Man was wild too.
Among the wild animals, he ran in his 15th place,
given to him by nature based on the speed of his gait.
And of course he could catch neither the Hare,
nor the Fox, nor the Ostrich,
nor the Wildebeast, nor the Dog
nor the Giraffe,
nor the Camel, nor the Elephant,
nor, especially, the Cheetah,
who as you know, can run at the speed of 120 km/h
The Man was completely wild.
That's that.
The Man was dreadfully wild.
That's that.
The Man was astoundingly wild.
And of course,
he would have forever,
for ages and ages,
remained impossibly,
unthinkably,
horribly wild
if not for the Woman.
The Man simply stood stunned.
He dropped his stone knife...
Basically, he acted as do all wild men at the sight of a woman.
She told him, "I do not like your wild lifestyle."
You have a terribly neglected appearance,
and bad manners.
You probably never wash yourself, and sleep in a heap of wet leaves.
But I picked out a nice dry cave,
and covered the floor with clean sand.
And together they went to the cave,
passing by lavishly-coloured magnolias
blooming fig trees and oleanders,
sweet-smelling wild potatoes, and tomatoes.
And yet, here were a mother and father,
only from prehistory.
At first, the Man armed himself to the teeth
and went to check -
was an enemy hiding, or lurking,
in the dark corners of the cave?
But the Woman explained,
First of all, at the entrance, you must wipe your feet, dear.
because here we'll keep house.
Here will be our family fireplace.
And here will be our bedroom
Here we will keep our food stores.
Awesome!
At home you must speak in an even voice.
This red flower will be our best friend.
It will keep us warm
and protect us from wild animals.
and cook us tasty food.
Be careful!
Oh, it hurts!
You poor thing.
What terrible manners are these?
A fire must never be touched with your hands.
Food must be thoroughly chewed.
And the Man, for the first time in his life,
ate his fill.
And fell asleep.
But the Woman...
let loose her dense-as-midnight hair
and painted red clay on her face and hands
She devised this
She created this
She sung this;
the world's first Singing Magic.
Oh Fire, my protector...
you're quiet...
when you simmer under the ashes...
You're mighty...
when you awaken and rip apart the darkness.
Oh, creator of hearth and home.
Give me a loyal friend.
Let his heart be as hot
as is yours, oh Fire!
Let his tongue be as red
as is yours, oh Fire!
Let him bite painfully my enemies
as you bite, my protector Fire.
Oh, Great Fire!
Born by your mother, Lightning!
Connecting the sky with the earth!
Before your minuscule sparks...
tremble the Great Trees!
And when you go to the forest,
for your big hunt,
all wild animals run from you!
They run from you!
At that time, there, in the wet and wild woods,
all wild animals gathered together
and gazed at the distant fire smoldering in the cave
And stepped into the Moon's light Wild Horse,
stomped his hoof,
and said:
O my friends, and my enemies,
Why is the Red Flower glowing in that big cave?
What harm will it do us?
But nobody, nobody among the wild animals
knew the answer.
But Wild Dog smelled...
the smell of cooked meat.
I will go,
and see, and investigate,
and find out.
I think this is...
I think that this is...
not bad...
Cat, come with me.
No.
I am the Cat. I walk by myself,
and in completely different places.
And Wild Dog went by himself.
But the Cat said to herself,
through her whiskers,
All places are alike to me
Why should I not go as well,
and see everything,
and investigate everything,
and come away when I want to?
At the very mouth of the cave, Wild Dog
became fearful and decided to go back.
What is this?
But the magic smell of the cooked meat called out to him
and beckoned him.
What is this?
Thank you, oh Fire!
Wild thing of the wild woods,
what do you want?
O, my enemy and wife of my enemy
what is this that smells so good in the wild woods?
Wild thing of the wild woods,
taste it.
Try this.
O, my enemy and wife of my enemy,
give me another.
Help my Man to hunt through the day
and guard this cave at night
and I will give you as many roasted bones as you want.
said the Cat through her whiskers,
This is a very wise Woman,
but she is not so wise as I am.
O, my friend and wife of my friend,
through the day I will help your Man to hunt,
and at night I will guard your cave.
said the Cat,
that is a very foolish Dog.
More than once will he regret this.
Take it.
"How the First Bone Was Buried"
The Dog, for the first time in his life,
was completely full.
And what if my stomach bursts?
But he remembered the black nights in the blacker-than-black forest.
I can't leave it.
how he howled from hunger and shivered from cold.
Maybe I should hide it?
And he walked around the whole cave
Just try and find it.
and found a concealed corner,
and buried the last bone.
For emergencies.
That is how the first bone was buried.
What is Wild Dog doing here?
His name is not Wild Dog any more, but First Friend,
because he will always, and always and always,
be our friend.
Friend.
Take him with you, when you go hunting for food,
but not for sport.
Search, Friend.
Where?
But the Cat...
freely,
all by herself,
walked atop the trees.
listening to intangible wild sounds,
echoes,
counter-calls,
intakes of breath,
Look, the tracks of wild animals are left here.
And if one knows the snowy grammar,
it's possible to solve everything that is written in the White Book of Nature.
The Dog runs across the snow,
reading the White Book.
There are tracks in the Book,
these are the letters.
And the animals,
those are the words.
Behind each phrase in the book
hides a living soul.
Guess, Dog,
who left this straight narrow line
upon the fluffy snow?
This is a mouse,
hiding,
in a burrow.
Who drew out
this wily zigzag
in the empty field?
It's a Hare,
tried to throw me off his scent.
On the fragile snow crust,
who signed herself with a swoosh
and vanished?
A crow.
flew away...
Wow... someone here made a great unholy mess.
Maybe it was... a bear?
No
this was done by Man.
Only a very wild Man acts like this.
Now, my master treats nature with care.
Give me your next riddle.
Now the riddle gets harder.
Try to remember, Dog,
whose track is this?
This was a Quagga.
Quagga?
I've never seen her.
Today her name is forgotten.
You will never see this small, cheerful equine.
Even in a zoo.
Why?
She was very trusting,
and approached Man on her own.
Man, heartlessly,
only for sport,
forever severed her track
on this Earth.
This is why today, there is a Red Book.
What is a Red Book?
Here are written the names of plants, birds,
and beasts whose tracks may sever at any time.
I think I'd better write my name
in the White Book.
"Dog"
Like that.
"Dog"
"Cat"
This is not a Cat.
Here's who it is.
Let your footprints always be in the White Book,
And mine too.
The Dog returned to the cave, and before anything else,
checked if the bone that had been buried was whole.
Right.
The bone was whole.
But the Dog meticulously sniffed out the whole cave.
Then it circled a bit.
I think you know how this is done by all dogs everywhere.
And... went to sleep.
But the Woman...
let loose her dense hair,
painted yellow clay on her face and hands,
took a sickle
and went out into the pre-dawn twilight.
she devised this,
she created this,
she sung this,
the world's second Singing Magic.
O, my peer, the Sun
Everything alive rejoices when you appear in the sky.
You are far, but your beams reach the Earth.
Everything you prepare is so wise,
and so beautiful.
And you have a servant - the Wind.
You raise flowers,
and the Wind disperses their seeds...
You feed animals,
and the wind blows away the remains
You give warmth to birds,
and the wind disperses their feathers...
O kind and caring Sun,
Choose for me from your golden herds
a servant as true as the Wind.
Let him fly without wings,
through the limitless woods,
through the high mountains,
through the boundless fields.
At that time, there, in the wild and tall grasslands,
all the wild animals gathered together
and listened to the distant echo of the Woman's voice.
The wild Horse inhaled the scent of fresh hay with his nostrils,
and said:
O my friends, and my enemies,
I will go, and see,
and say
why Wild Dog has not returned.
Cat, come with me.
No. I am the Cat.
I walk by myself.
The Wild Horse proudly shook his head,
and went alone!
Thank you, oh Sun!
Near the meadow, Wild Horse became fearful and decided to go back.
But...
the magic scent of the fresh hay called out to him
and beckoned him.
Wild thing of the wild woods,
what do you want?
O, my enemy and wife of my enemy
where is Wild Dog?
You did not come here for Wild Dog,
but for the sake of this aromatic grass.
That is... true.
Give it to me to eat.
Wild thing of the wild woods,
bend your wild head and wear what I give you
and you shall eat this wonderful grass three times a day.
said the Cat through her whiskers,
this is a very clever Woman,
but she is still not so clever as I am.
O, my mistress, and wife of my master,
for the sake of this wonderful grass,
I will be your servant.
said the Cat,
that is a very foolish Horse.
More than once will he regret this.
And the Cat, freely,
all by herself,
went among the tall, dense grass
listening to ripples,
rustles,
breaths,
echoes.
But the Woman
took the Horse by the headcollar,
and led him behind her, to the cave.
What is Wild Horse doing here?
His name is not Wild Horse any more,
but the First Servant
he will carry us from place to place on the Earth
for always and always and always.
Get up on his back, and ride him.
"How the Man First Mounted the Horse."
The man didn't know how one should mount a horse.
After all, nobody in the world had ever yet ridden a horse.
Oh, I don't know, I won't advise...
But the Man, confidently,
bravely, proudly,
fearlessly,
assuredly,
took a running start...
Took a running start to where?
Oh, I don't know...
And the unbroken, never-once-ridden Horse,
submitted!
That is how the Man first mounted the Horse.
Forward!
We are flying to the distant horizon
Hold harder and run lighter
More and more the wind sings to us
Faster and faster
the land rushes to meet us
What's beyond the horizon?
the horizon?
We've galloped 5000 miles from the Old World!
Mustangs! Look, mustangs!
Only the wind,
the mighty Northwest,
scouts ahead of the brave adventurers!
We are the first who will travel the limitless prairies of America!
But what's unfolding before us?
The foggy horizon,
the horizon,
beyond which
we so yearn to look!
What's beyond the horizon?
There is only sand here.
...and the scorched sky.
The lone horseman here feels that he is a lost grain of sand.
Not a mouthful of water.
Not a handful of hay!
The hot breath of the sandstorm blinds the proud adventurers.
Yet we will still
overcome the merciless Sahara desert!
And again opens ahead of us
the mysterious horizon.
Beyond which
we so yearn to look!
What's beyond the horizon?
Now this is a mountain!
It touches the very sky!
It is called Chomolungma.
8848 metres above sea level!
Yes... on such an ascent...
one can only go with a true friend!
You and I,
You and I are on top of the world!
Yet here comes upon us the fascinating horizon
The horizon
Beyond which
we so yearn to see
what's beyond the horizon?
What's beyond the horizon?
I see... land!
This is Australia!
Kangaroos live here!
And the wild dog Dingo!
Once again flees from us
the mystifying horizon
The horizon
Beyond which
we so yearn to see
what's beyond the horizon?
What's beyond the horizon?
Titanic blocks of ice
fracture and reverberate.
The fierce snowy squall destroys
mountains of ice
above the manly explorers of Antarctica.
We're on the edge of the world. [<--Moscow Moon-->]
Here the foot of Man has not yet trod!
The eternal calling
the unknown horizon
beyond which
no-one has yet passed
Ahead - the uncharted path!
The uncharted path.
What's beyond the horizon?
It's too bad you're not alive.
In the twilight by a waterhole
all the wild animals gathered together
and guessed alarmingly
why
did the Wild Dog and Wild Horse not return?
O my friends, and my enemies,
I will go, and see everything
and recount everything.
Cat, come with me.
No.
And the Wild Cow went alone.
Meanwhile...
the Woman
let loose her dense hair,
and painted white clay on her face and hands
She devised this
She created this
She sung this;
the world's third Singing Magic.
O, owner of the sky, the Moon!
Who is light in the darkness...
You drag the curtain of night,
and gather animals under your cover.
You fill to the brim with radiance
the waterhole, and you attract animals to it.
O, my caring Moon,
give me her to feed,
so that she would feed my family.
I will shelter her from enemies,
as you shelter your own herds.
Let her milk...
be white as your vaporous fogs,
aromatic as the night air,
sweet as your flowers.
Thank you, oh Moon!
O, my enemy and wife of my enemy
Where have the Wild Dog and Wild Horse gone, mm?
You did not come here for Wild Dog,
or the Wild Horse,
But for this quiet dwelling.
That seems to be so.
Wild thing out of the wild woods,
give me two times a day warm, white milk,
and you will always live in this comfy abode.
said the Cat,
this is a very clever Woman,
but she is still not so clever as I am.
"How the Cow Became Short-horned"
The Cow really liked her new dwelling,
where she no longer needed to defend herself from anyone.
And the Cow...
bent off the points of her horns
so that they wouldn't inconvenience her when she entered the hut.
That is how the Cow became short-horned.
O, my mistress, and wife of my master,
for the sake of this peaceful dwelling
I will give you my milk every day.
said the Cat,
that is a very foolish Cow.
More than once will she regret this.
I think we're heading the right way.
Look around here.
Where?
What is Wild Cow doing here?
What... what is Wild Cow doing here?
Her name is not Wild Cow any more,
but the First Feeder.
because she will give us white, steamy milk,
and I will care for her
for always and always and always.
On the next day,
not one of the wild animals came to the cave.
But the Cat... went there.
All by herself.
And in the meadow she saw
a wonderful scene.
And looking at the chewing Cow,
and at the warm, steamy milk,
the Cat began to think sweet thoughts.
It would be interesting to know...
what makes milk white?
Probably, it is made from the tiny birds,
which so ceaselessly circle this meadow.
Who're, by the way, quite near to me.
Red cardinals,
orange weavers,
yellow canaries,
green parrots,
cyan heavenly sylphs,
blue swamphens,
and if one should add violet hummingbirds,
maybe one would get white milk from this?
No. I do not eat this.
But of course,
of course, I simply made a mistake.
Most likely, white milk comes
comes...
from butterflies.
who so freely flutter around this meadow.
Actually, right in front of my nose.
Red snout-moths,
orange Monarchs,
yellow Brimstones,
green zephyrs,
cyan Blues,
blue Ulysses,
and of course to this, one must add violet Night Butterflies.
Maybe from this one would get white milk?
I, for one, do not eat this.
But of course,
of course, I simply made a mistake.
White milk,
undoubtedly,
though this is all strange to me,
comes...
from flowers.
Red Papavers,
orange globeflowers,
yellow Klamath weed,
green grass,
cyan chicories,
blue cornflowers,
and of course, to them one must add violet columbines.
so that they become
white
milk.
Yes!
That is so.
Do you, by any chance, know
what makes up the white light?
If to a red stripe, you add an orange one,
and a yellow one,
and then a green one,
a cyan one,
a blue one,
and, of course, a violet one,
you will get...
A rainbow.
And if you spin it?
A strange thing,
from such a multi-coloured rainbow,
you truly get a completely...
white light.
And if to the red stripe of dawn,
we add the orange desert,
the yellow savanna,
green forests,
cyan rivers,
blue lands of ice,
and the violet ocean...
then we get...
the whole white world!
And the Cat... went after the milk,
to the cave.
Because she decided to conclude with the Woman...
her own agreement.
What agreement?
Of this,
I will tell you next time.
Voiced by: Nikolay Burlyayev, Inna Churikova Valentina Ponomaryova, Anna Kamenkova
Yelena Sanayeva, Georgiy Burkov Nikolay Karachentsov, Nogon Shumarov
Animators: Yuriy Batanin, Lidiya Mayatnikova Tatyana Molodova, Olga Panokina
Yelena Gavrilko, Akop Kirakosyan Violetta Kolesnikova, Aleksandr Panov
Aleksandr Gorlenko, Anatoliy Abarenov Vladimir Shevchenko
Puppets and decorations made by: Oleg Masainov, Vladimir Abbakumov Pavel Gusev, Mikhail Koltunov
Natalia Grinberg, Liliana Lyutinskaya Svetlana Znamenskaya, Natalia Barkovskaya
Nina Moleva, Marina Chesnokova Anna Vetyukova, Nikolay Zaklyakov
Vladimir Alisov, Aleksandr Maksimov E. Belova, V. Platonov
O. Potanin
Assistant directors: L. Radionova, I. Karp E. Kredushinskaya, M. Novogrudskaya
Camera assistant: V. Prudnikov
Assistant artists: Ye. Gagarina, T. Grokhovskaya Ye. Zaletayeva, G. Melko
Ye. Nedoshivina, I. Moyiseyeva S. Glagolev, Ye. Aleksandrova V. Bayramov
Sculptor: S. Aseryants
Sound operators: Vladimir Vinogradov, Sergey Karpov
Editor: Nadezhda Treshchyova
Script editor: Raisa Frichinskaya
Production director: Grigoriy Khmara
Administrators: B. Khodova, N. Etlis
End of the Film �Film studio "Soyuzmultfilm" 1988.
Subtitles by Niffiwan