Cat Bayun

Sings songs, tells tales, and sometimes kills. Cat Bayun (cat bayun, cat bakhar) is a character in Slavic fairy tales, possessing a magical voice. He charms and lulls approaching travelers with his conversations and songs, and those who lack the strength to resist his magic and who are not prepared for battle with him, the sorcerer cat kills with iron claws [1]. But whoever manages to catch the cat will find salvation from all diseases and ailments, since the tales of Cat Bayun are healing. The word bayun means "talker, storyteller, talker" [2], from the verb bayat "to tell, to speak" (cf. also the verbs bayukat', ubayukivat' meaning "to put to sleep") [3]. Afanasyev describes the cat in his theoretical work, summarizing data from several fairy tales (his desire to identify him with the elements is disputed today.