the cat - World eBook Library

=THE CAT
object of affection, unless, indeed, the paternal
junk held some forlorn Chinese child, as joyless,
as famished, as friendless as herself; a child who,
perishing perchance in that miserable abode, would
leave no more trace of its incomplete existence than
she had done.
At last one small paw was lifted, oh, so deli-
cately, so discreetly, and after a long, anxious look,
Moumoutte, believing the time had now come for
venturing all things, took heart of grace, and
leaped upon my knee.
There she curled herself, but with tact and re-
serve, seeming to make her little body as light as
possible, a mere featherweight, and never taking
her eyes from my face. She stayed a long time,
inconveniencing me greatly ; but I lacked the cour-
age to put her down, as I should have done had she
been pretty and gay. Nervously aware of my
least movement, she watched me intently, not as
though fearing I would do her harm,— she was too
intelligent to think me capable of such a thing,
but as though to ask, " Are you sure I do not
weary or offend you? " Then her disquietude
softened into cajolery, and her eyes, lifted to
" On this
mine, said with charming distinctness :
autumn evening, so dreary to the soul of a cat,
since we two are isolated in this unquiet abode, and
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