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the cat - World eBook Library

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THE CAT:<br />

fully I walk. And don't you think that everything<br />

here is very pretty? These paths, and <strong>the</strong>se<br />

strange little green things which smell so good?<br />

And <strong>the</strong>n those o<strong>the</strong>r objects I see above me, which<br />

are called <strong>the</strong> sun, <strong>the</strong> moon, <strong>the</strong> stars. How dif-<br />

ferent it is from our old lodgings, and how well off<br />

we are, you and I, in tins country."<br />

In <strong>the</strong> winter our <strong>cat</strong>s became our fireside guests,<br />

our constant companions, sharing with us, not only<br />

<strong>the</strong> warmth and flicker of <strong>the</strong> flames, but <strong>the</strong> vague<br />

melancholy of our twilight reveries, and our un-<br />

fathomable dreams. This, too, is <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

greatest beauty. At <strong>the</strong> first approach of cold<br />

wea<strong>the</strong>r, Moumoutte Chinoise patched up <strong>the</strong> holes<br />

in her ragged coat, and Moumoutte Blanche<br />

adorned herself with an imposing cravat, a snow<br />

white boa, which framed her little face like some<br />

vast Medicean ruff. The friendship of <strong>the</strong> two<br />

<strong>cat</strong>s for each o<strong>the</strong>r grew stronger in such close<br />

companionship. In <strong>the</strong> depth of an armchair, or<br />

on <strong>the</strong>ir cushions before <strong>the</strong> fire, <strong>the</strong>y slept for<br />

days toge<strong>the</strong>r, rolled up into one big furry ball,<br />

without visible head or tail.<br />

It was Moumoutte Chinoise who perseveringly<br />

courted this comfortable warmth. When, after a<br />

short and chilly run in <strong>the</strong> garden, she found her

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