I AM TAMA, LUCKY CAT: A JAPANESE LEGEND

In fact, I am Mercury.  [yawn].

I am, however, here to tell you about a book by that name (see cover below).

Long ago, in Japan [Did I mention that my Greg person's ancestors originated in Japan?] or so the story goes, there lived a poor but devout holy man who was barely keeping his temple together.  Tama appeared, raising his paw in the traditional Japanese come-to-me greeting.  [Some cats are known to do this.  I do not].

The cat adopted the holy man and stayed at the temple.  One day, during a thunderstorm, Tama greeted a rich samurai feudal lord who was taking refuge under a tree outside the temple grounds.  [I make no comment on whether it was a good idea for Tama to have been outdoors during a thunderstorm.]

The samurai approached the cat an instant before the tree was struck by lightning. [See?] In gratitude, the samurai lord bestowed lavish gifts, became a friend to the monk, and restored the temple to prosperity. 

[Is it true?  I don't know, but you can buy Maneki Neko figurines just about anywhere these days.]  In any case, I AM TAMA is a lovely story, freshly told, with very nice lush illustrations. 
   

I AM TAMA, LUCKY CAT: A JAPANESE LEGEND, by Wendy Henrichs, ill. by Yoshiko Jaeggi (Peachtree 2011)(ages 5-9).