Show A TRUE STORY OF A COMMON CA CAT T EDWARD E r WHITING A Av the cold winds beg bep- n a 0 bow l ow and there is Ss a hint of heavy Six u s OJ n the air and as v wa pa 2 sit T clo-T at rm homand m I and ami feel fel grateful for cc an n I 1 security my rind nind goes oes n J nyk k fer sc r ass s s to i a high h Ilton n Tl Berk Ber lure ohire county and md i a yellow ca roam roam- roaming i earn earning In ing the d 1 duk k woods at ne-b ne r 1 1 1 li Ii liing ing m ing as cats may in the WI I ThIs us JoS the story tory of Torre It is 13 isa isa a true story there thie thel e is something of tra tragedy edv in m it much of drama a de deal tl of If mystery m It has a happy ending Back Blk thirty years a ago o my parents an ol of in the town of Otis but some five miles from the A remote isolated beautiful be p 1 see ace ce the thc house hous perched on the hIll t about 1800 1300 fet feat fc t ab above ve set level Standing on the front p azza one I look looked d across a rolling expanse e of low Jow hills end 2nd on tee tre hon on str h fd ed a purplish trace ha e cf of mountains meld Ti I 4 into the sk sky ski Bo imd Bc-imd and the house the slope alone rose another 59 50 feet to a bare re abare bleak stone tone cropped summt 3 wh Je the i watcher atcher SR caw sair a groat Greylock sweep cf of horizon with Mt H TOnI Tom Gre Grey lock Jock k and on clear cJ nr days the C in m the of maple bec becek k oil 1 birch and pin PIll with some ash and mId other trees swept lile hh i a along the slopes sloped of our farm When Then we took tool over this tIus great old place thel there e v went ent with I it t along wIth I farm tools horses cows and andI I other farm nece necessaries n two tiro cats cats cats- Tommy and Beauty If euer er thel e was a married couple co here was one They sere vele devoted When Beauty vellow had her little family of vel low Jow kittens to care for Tom pro provided her with wild food The house gave ave her milk ant and odd odds and ends but It herfield was Tommys Tommy's delight ht to bring h her r field mice mie and v we pe e could se him come across the moping mo mg wit wits with a mouse m in his mouth Now Nw lets let's keep clear of moralizing at this point on the hunt hunt- hunting hunting ing mg proclivities of cats I have no quarrel with them thorn I may wrIte something about this tins some day dav but not here I love Jove birds bird's and all liv- liv living liv living ing mS things but I will wIn not jude the cat 01 or other animals who as the Lord made them Just Juat as the fact let it be said that Tommy brought Beauty field mice not birds But that is not the stor stori The hued farmer fanner who had charge of the place owned several dogs It is not easy to mix do dogs s and c cats ts lerline they have hav been bee brought bro up tog to t Bore e is another of af natures nature's way wa ways It v which Ishall I shall not quarrel The facts m in this case were that Beauty after some months disappeared cd We Ve at- at alays al always ways ays supposed one of the th farmers farmer's farmer dogs killed her and we mourned her hel remained a short tame after Beauty went vent and then theft disappeared We felt sure he had also fallen a v c- c tim c-tim tim hm to the dogs doffs and we mourned and again and even more for Tommy was a most engaging cat flesh firm fleshed firm ed sleek responsive soft furred soft furred not like a city tomcat but a bit of it lId ld life con contenting consenting to human com com- corn We did not forget Tommy and and of often of- of often often ten spoke of him as of or a friend lost Tome passed and with it the farm farmer's farmer's farmers farmer's ers er's reign On d a spring day he pick pIck- pIcked picked picked ed his household goods goody goodson on wagons prepared to depart with his family on the morrow On the day he packed his wagons Tommy reappeared He sit sat perched on one of the highest rafters in the great reat old red barns out ol of I reach of do dogs s or men There the of l rello sat leaning his head over and catching the goings and nIn eo-nIn coning coiling of beneath We called him tried to tempt him with a saucer of earn c-earn c am ambut but he moved not Night came and ando o high rafter slept or watched Tommy The next net day the farmer his fam- fam family ily fim-ily ily dy and his dogs departed The Th car car- carwan caravan caravan avan wan had not gone a quarter of I a amile mile down the road when Tommy earn came trotting and chirruping Lo to the west door of the house He rubbed purring and ind joyous against our Jo logs s i arched his fine yellow vellow back nosed in- in into I in into to once familiar corners of th the kItchen and then settled down cruch mg ing to a saucer of cream his ta to 1 gently swaying spaying at the end lapping contentedly the rene al of things as s they had been Where hid had he been All through he last half of the summer before belore through the winter winter-at winter ar 1 l they have fashioned old oid- oid fashioned winters in m the fork Berk Berkshire shire through hills hills through the inciting Tommy must m Lave ranged the and woods living maybe ma in m d de- de deserted de deserted tumble down dawn barns or sheds perhaps in caves C CS oi of other natural shelters Tommy for those long Jong m months had gone one wild He had skip skIp- skIpped skipped skipped ped some of years to the tine when hi hia kind hind were self sufficIent sufficient sufficient wanderers of the e woods But and here is the point 01 cr the whole story while he had go Ie i ld Id n his way of living the ties hes 01 of civil civil- civil u had stuck The claim of human hu human man companionship h hid had stayed v ith him Else how was it that he made m IllS his reappearance on un th the very d day y that the loaded wagons stool i In the ard I feel teel sure about Tommy lIe He lei nd Ii dus d dus us and told hIm he lie must make his living re else elsewhere where or perish before hostile force he bc kept hip hia hI eye e eve e on home Like SOMe sorie pandering exit he crept close in the dark hours and pecked in the light lighted ed windows The thought of firesides of hands of sau sau- sau- sau saucer's saucers cers celS of food by the kitchen stove the of a n pleasant couch or chair i 1 living romo a thought of hiS has spot in m the spring sunshIne on the souto these steps steps these lived v u Ith him Tommy had had faith futh In to n us in m the iu fu tire twe in the gods of nature and the gods cds of homes and friendship Ve y 11 cats have their gods So h I watched and waited pit pat In do InI I spoiled d He lie cars care back backi I Tommy lived his span of Id act i a I his friends 1 faith faith- faithful good cat loyal to I ful to the demands of cat nature lIe He lIeI HeI HeI I I his has gone to the place for fer good cats and he js as not forgotten For no good I scat cat ever is h Our forgotten forgotten Our Dumb Animals |