Curriculum and Learning Resources

King Sigismund

Rev. Chris Fry
UU Church of Davis
Davis, CA

The cats in Transylvania were getting on King Sigismund's nerves. Night after night they fought, keeping everyone awake. Bruised and limping, the cats went to King Sigismund for help. "Choose one of our kind to be 'The One and Only Royal Cat of the Kingdom' and we'll fight no more," they said.

So King Sigismund called a Diet (or a debate, he wasn't trying to get the cats to lose weight after all). Cats came from all over the country. Black cats, tabby cats, calico cats, white cats. Cats with stripes, cats with spots, cats of all colors. There were cats who liked to chase mice and cats who dozed in the sun. There were cats who purred in people's laps and cats who patrolled the streets at night. There were cats who would only eat ONE kind of food, and cats who liked a mixture of tuna, egg, and cheese.

But most of all there were cats who thought that THEIR way of sleeping, eating, and living was the ONLY proper way.

After listening to the cats argue back and forth for ten days, King Sigismund had a bigger headache than ever.

But then a cat known for his eloquence stood to speak. His name was F.D. or Francis David (Dah-veed). In a deep voice he told the King: "We do not have to think alike to love alike."

King Sigismund was so impressed with F.D.'s speech that he declared a new law right then and there. It was called E-OT (or the Edict of Torda, because that was the town where the cats were meeting). The new law said that every cat had the right to live in peace in the kingdom. No cat was allowed to harm or make fun of another because of the way they looked or acted. There was room in the kingdom for ALL kinds of cats.

It has been more than 400 years since King Sigismund issued this rule, the first of its kind in the world. Thanks to King Sigismund and his friend, F.D., may cats today enjoy the freedom to eat, sleep, and live as they choose. As Unitarian Universalists we work to keep this freedom alive for everyone!

Purr……..The End

This story is one of a series on Unitarian Universalist history being created by the Reverend Christine Fry at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, CA. This story has been delightfully illustrated by her daughter, Esumi Fujimoto, age nine. For more information about this project, Living Our Faith: Stories for all ages, please contact Chris at the UU Church of Davis, P.O. Box 73710, Davis, CA 95617 or email her at revcfry@aol.com.