In Cerberus Canis Monstruosus, Cerberus wants to be a dog. He wants to catch balls, and he wants people to pet and love him just like they love dogs. He has one big problem though… well, four big problems. Unlike a normal dog, he has three heads and the tail of a snake. People think he’s a monster!
People don’t want to throw balls to a monster or pet a monster or love a monster. People fear monsters. People want to kill monsters.
Still, Cerberus is determined to find a home where he can be accepted for who he is. Surely, he can find someone who wants to throw a ball to him! Surely, someone will see Cerberus as Cerberus, not as a monster… right?
Cerberus Canis Monstruosus is intended for use in Latin II. This novella may be appropriate at other levels depending on the students’ years of study and its intended use. The first chapter is available here.
Cerberus Canis Monstruosus: A Latin Novella is available on Amazon for 11.50 and will soon be available in bulk discounts on Bombax Press.
About the Plot of Cerberus Canis Monstruosus
Cerberus Canis Monstruosus: a Latin Novella begins in the middle of a fight between Cerberus and his sister, the hydra. She is undeniably a monster and sees herself as one, and she is outraged that Cerberus doesn’t accept that he’s a monster. Cerberus, instead, wants to find someone who will pet him and throw a ball to him just like people love a dog. They head separate ways, Hydra to kill people and Cerberus to find someone to love.
In Cerberus’ quest, he encounters many Roman gods, including Jupiter and Juno, Venus, and Mercury. He struggles to find someone who can see him as he truly is, and he also struggles with his identity. Is he a dog? Is he a monster? The prevalent themes focus on identity, acceptance, and family. We don’t always find a family with the one we are born into, but we can certainly make a place for ourselves in the world.
About the Vocabulary and Grammar
The vocabulary is intentionally sheltered to allow for more extensive and independent reading. The novella contains about 5,200 words, and it uses 159 total unique words. Of those words, some are clear cognates, names, or glosses that were essential to the story but appeared fewer than ten times. When those words are removed from the 159 words that constitute the novella’s 5,200 word length, a student would need a working vocabulary of 113 words to read this text.
In addition, I paid careful attention to the frequency that words appear in Latin literature. When choosing between synonyms, for example, I chose the more common word. I am also careful about what I consider to be a cognate and choose only words that I consider to be especially clear and in most students’ English vocabulary. After all, it doesn’t matter if a word is a clear cognate if it’s not in a typical student’s vocabulary.
Unlike the vocabulary, the grammar in this novella is not sheltered. This story is in the past tense and includes some verbs in the imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect indicative. Students will mostly encounter verbs in the perfect and imperfect tenses. The novella, though, is rich with dialogue, so readers will also encounter verbs in present and future tenses. This novella uses the deponent verb sequi as well as the perfect forms of gaudere.
About the Artwork in Cerberus Canis Monstruosus
I am very lucky to have worked with Vo Thi Lan Anh, who is the illustrator of this novella. She took my ideas, suggestions, and outlines, and she made Cerberus into the adorably monstrous dog I could never have created on my own. I am grateful for the work she put into creating him and the other characters in this story. If you would like to commission Lan Anh for artwork—monstrous or otherwise—you can find her under the username Lananvho on fiverr.com. I remain grateful to my friend and neighbor Linda Renaud who turned the artwork into a cover image for me. You can find her wildlife artwork at lindarenaudart.com.
Sample Artwork from Cerberus Canis Monstruosus
About the Text Features
Cerberus Canis Monstruosus has a full index of word forms. In the index, the reader can look up all unknown words. The index lists verbs separately. As such, a reader could independently look up both vult and volunt without knowing the dictionary entry of the word. The index provides a general translation of the word. Verbs include a translation that is grammatically appropriate and would fit the context of the sentence. This text also contains a dictionary. This dictionary offers all the principal parts. The dictionary notes how frequently the words appear in Latin Literature according to the Core Latin Vocabulary or Essential Latin vocabulary.
If you would like to review the vocabulary used in Cerberus Canis Monstruosus: A Latin Novella, the dictionary is available here.
