the cat - World eBook Library

THE CAT
An Outcast
My father had a strong sympathy for cats.
This was the result of early experience. He and
his brother, knocked pitilessly about in their child-
hood between the harshness of home and the cruelty
of school, had, for solace and alleviation, two well-
loved cats. Affection for these animals became a
family trait. When we were young, each of us
had a kitten. We gathered round the fire at night,
and our sleek, well-fed pets sat at our feet, basking
in the grateful warmth.
There was one cat, however, that never joined
the circle. He was a poor ugly thing, and so con-
scious of his defects that he held aloof with invinci-
ble shyness and reserve. He was the butt, the
souffre douleur of our little society ; and the inborn
malignity of our natures found expression in the
ridicule with which we pelted him. His name was
Moquo. He was thin and weak, his coat was
scanty, he needed the warm fireside more than the
other cats; but the children frightened him, and
his comrades, wrapped snugly in their furry robes,
disdained to take any notice of his presence. Only
my father would go to the dim, cold corner where he
cowered, pick him up, carry him to the hearth, and
tuck him safely out of sight under a fold of his own
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