A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel

In this painting, Leyster depicts two cheeky looking children, a young boy and a young girl. The boy holds a small cat in the crook of his elbow, a white eel in the other arm. The little girl pulls on the tail of the cat while raising her finger to the viewer; she seems to be communicating something to us with her little smile. The cat looks rather disgruntled and its claws are bared, yet the pose of the young boy and the confidence of the little girl suggest that they are unaware that at any moment, chaos could break loose. Children were often used at this time to illustrate bad or improper behaviour. Art historian Cynthia Kortenhorst-Von Bogendorf Rupprath suggests that this painting represents a Dutch proverb which translates as: "he who plays with the cat gets scratched, meaning he who looks for trouble gets it." The little girl's gesture seems to confirm this idea, as if she actively trying to get the viewer to contemplate this lesson. However, as with The Carousing Couple, there is something rather charming in their pink cheeks and smiles, even if they are behaving badly.