I don't remember having much of an opinion about Cinderella when I was little--I always thought Sleeping Beauty and The Wizard of Oz were more interesting--but I distinctly remember being confused about that fat mouse. His name was Octavius, but they called him Gus. The same thing happens in Cats: Gus the Theatre Cat's name 'is really Asparagus, but that's such a fuss' that they call him Gus. Hm. Very curious. From this scientific research, I've gleaned that the name Gus is a way of taking complicated, fussy, unattractive names, and making them neat and refined. (My research has yet to determine whether Gus can shorten every name, or just ones...read more
