one day, when he was playing outside, he met a stray cat. he played with this cat, and they liked each other very much. when the boy was called in for his tea, he excitedly told his grandparents about this lovely little black and white cat he'd met, and how she had no home to go to and pleasepleaseplease could he keep her?
his grandad considered this, looking at his grandson's hopeful face and said: "all right - if you can go outside and find this cat, you can keep it."
the boy was thrilled, and rushed outside to find the little black and white cat. he searched and he searched, high and low, but he couldn't find the little cat anywhere. eventually, it got dark, and his grandma called him inside. he walked inside slowly, his shoulders drooping with dejection. he met his grandad in the living room.
"did you find the cat, then?"
the boy's shoulders sagged a little more. "no, i didn't"
"well never mind" replied his grandad, kindly. "go on upstairs and get ready for bed, lad"
the boy walked slowly and sadly into the hall, to the foot of the stairs.
where the little black and white cat was waiting for him.
it was only many years later, when he was telling his future wife the story of the little black and white cat, that he realised how the cat had got to the foot of those stairs.
---
once upon a time, there was a little girl who already had two cats.
it was a very bad winter. it was very cold, and the snow lay thick on the ground. she began to hear her mum and dad talking about "that bloody black thing" that, she gathered, was another cat that had taken to sneaking in through the cat flap at night, and sleeping on the kitchen table with the other two cats. her dad kept throwing his slipper at it, but "that bloody black thing" was very persistent and, eventually, the family gave in and adopted the cat.
she was, actually, a beautiful longhaired tortoishell, and turned out to have the sweetest, most loving nature of any cat the little girl had ever, or (she suspects) would ever, encounter. it was easy to tell when the cat was asleep, since that was the only time she ever stopped purring.
the little girl grew up with that cat, and they were very, very firm friends.
when the little girl was twenty, the beautiful cat died, and she was heartbroken. a dozen years later, she still missed her and, very occasionally, dreamed about her. when this happened, she would wake up crying, missing her friend terribly, wishing only to bury her face into that soft, sweet-smelling fur, and hear that thunderous, throbbing purr once more.
---
once upon a time, the little boy with the black and white cat grew up to have a son. one day, whilst the (now) man and his (now) wife were visiting the son, his girlfriend and their son, in their new house, the man and his wife went outside for a smoke (so they wouldn't damage the health of the man's grandson). whilst they were outside (along with the man's son and his other son, who was staying with his brother and family for a while), a big black and white cat jumped up on to the fence beside them and, with thunderous purrs and imperious and insistent headbutts, demanded as much fuss as they were prepared to give him. delighted with this amazingly sweet natured animal, the man and his wife questioned the young men about this cat. they were horrified to learn that the previous tennants had left the cat behind when they moved, and he was living in the garden of the abandoned house next door. the brothers had been feeding him, but that was as far as it went, as they were all on a very low income, and couldn't afford to do any more than that. and besides, living outside, the poor animal, of course, had fleas, and they didn't want the fleas in the house (especially with the baby) if they could help it, and couldn't afford to treat them properly.
the man and his wife's hearts melted.
they were on holiday that week, and were going away. they decided, however, that as soon as they returned, they would adopt this sweet and abandoned animal, and give him the loving home that he deserved.
---
ladies and gentlemen, i take great pleasure in introducing you to Max The Cat.
i never thought i would ever again meet a cat as sweet-natured and chilled out as my beloved and much-missed tortoishell.
but i think he comes pretty close.
this is the view i've had for much of the weekend, at least when i've sat still for more than five minutes, since he comes and lies contentedly on my chest:
accompanied with affectionate headbutts to the chin, and a purr like the throb of an engine.
i think i'm in love.
.
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