The Turtle and The Cat

So a while ago my friend asked me to watch Fruits Basket with her and we ended up watching most of the first season (I don’t know if there is a second). There is a story of the zodiac symbols that most of the plot line uses. Immediately as I saw the story I was reminded of the folk tale from Things Fall Apart of the turtle. The zodiac story is that all the animals were invited to the banquet but the rat convinces the cat not to go and the party goes on without the cat. This is why the cat is not a part of the zodiac. For purposes of comparing the two a real quick summary of Okonkwo’s story is that the turtle wanted to go to the birds’ banquet so he got a feather from each. They all flew up, he took all the food, birds got pissed, took away feathers, he fell home, cracked his shell, and that’s why the turtle’s shell is bumpy. Both stories involve animals going to banquets and explain something. In the zodiac story an animal is tricked out of going but in the folk tale an animal is tricking others so he can go. I guess this mean both stories have trickery and have the desired outcome but the outcomes are the opposite. What the stories explain also involve what animal is affected by the trickery. The outcomes of the very end of the story could also be considered negative I mean the cat probably wanted to be in the zodiac I mean in the show he did and the turtle probably did not want to fall and crack his shell. I'm not sure which story came first but using my knowledge of mythology I think that one story used the other. Back on the subject of Fruits Basket that is a great show if you have not already been able to tell I love shows or books that are based off of stories or mythologies so it amazes me that from this simple story an entire show can blossom. Not even the show but all the character’s personalities are based off this short story that could be summed up in two sentences amazes me.