the cat - World eBook Library

The Two Cats
THE CAT
The spring was clear and beautiful, the air loud
with the song of birds, and to Moumoutte Chinoise,
reared in suffocating darkness, the bright sunshine,
the soft winds, and the presence of other cats were
both a mystery and a delight. She explored the
garden from end to end, smelling the young blades
of grass, and the tiny leaves that came shooting up
from the warm earth. All that was so familiar to
us was to her new and strange; and Moumoutte
Blanche, once the sole ruler of this lovely place,
shared with her its endless wonders.
The borders of the miniature lake pleased la
Chinoise best of all. She picked her careful way
through the grass, which grew taller day by day;
she crawled on her belly, as though tracking down
her quarry; she hid behind the lilliputian rocks,
and crouched under the ivy, for all the world like
a little tiger in a jungle. I amused myself by
watching her slow progress, her frequent pauses,
her bewilderment; and, whenever she caught me
looking at her, she turned and faced me, immovable
as a statue, with one paw delicately held in air.
Her droll yellow eyes fixed upon my face said as
plainly as words could do : " You will permit me
to continue my stroll? See how lightly and care-
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