Welcome,
Dear listeners,
To another cozy bedtime story here on Drift Off.
I'm your host Joanne,
And tonight I'm delighted to bring you The Story of a Cat by Mary DeMorgan,
A magical tale that I hope will whisk you away into a world of wonder and calm.
Now,
Let's take a moment to settle in.
Wherever you are,
Find a comfortable position,
And close your eyes if that feels right.
Imagine yourself in a cozy,
Warm room,
With a gentle fire crackling beside you.
You're wrapped up in a soft blanket,
And the golden glow of the firelight dances across the walls,
Casting gentle shadows that flicker and sway.
Feel the warmth radiate,
Filling the space with a soothing sense of safety and peace.
As you breathe slowly,
Let go of the day's thoughts,
Allowing yourself to be fully present in this tranquil moment.
Let the gentle comfort of the room and the soft,
Inviting glow create a perfect cocoon of relaxation around you.
My friend,
You are ready to drift off now into the story ahead,
Where gentle adventures await.
Thank you for being here,
And let's get ready now to enjoy the story.
Once,
There lived an old gentleman,
Who was a very rich old gentleman,
And able to buy nearly everything he wanted.
He had earned all his wealth for himself by trading in a big city,
And now he had grown so fond of money that he loved it better than anything else in the world,
And thought of nothing except how he could save it up and make more.
But he never seemed to have time to enjoy himself with all that he had earned,
And he was very angry if he was asked to give money to others.
He lived in a handsome house all alone,
And he had a very good cook who cooked him a sumptuous dinner every day,
But he rarely asked anyone to share it with him,
Though he loved eating and drinking,
And always had the best wine and food.
His cook and his other servants knew that he was greedy and hard,
And cared for nobody,
And though they served him well because he paid them,
They none of them loved him.
It was one Christmas,
And the snow lay thick upon the ground,
And the wind howled so fiercely that the old gentleman was very glad he was not obliged to go out into the street,
But could sit in his comfortable armchair by the fire and keep warm.
It really is terrible weather,
He said to himself,
Terrible weather,
And he went to the window and looked out into the street,
Where all the pavements were inches deep in snow.
I am very glad that I don't need to go out at all,
But can sit here and keep warm for today.
That is the great thing,
And I shall have some ado to keep out the cold,
Even here with the fire.
He was leaving the window,
When there came up in the street outside an old man,
Whose clothes hung in rags about him,
And who looked half frozen.
He was about the same age as the old gentleman inside the window,
And the same height,
And had grey curly hair like his,
And if they had been dressed alike,
Anyone would have taken them for two brothers.
Oh really,
Said the old gentleman irritably,
This is most annoying.
The parish ought to take up these sort of people,
And prevent their wandering about the streets and bothering honest folk,
For the poor old man had taken off his hat and began to beg.
It is Christmas day,
He said,
And though he did not speak very loud,
The old gentleman could hear every word he said quite plainly through the window.
It is Christmas day,
And you will have your dinner here in your warm room.
Of your charity,
Give me a silver shilling,
That I may go into an eating shop and have a dinner too.
A silver shilling,
Cried the old gentleman,
I never heard of such a thing,
Monstrous.
Go away,
I never give to beggars,
And you must have done something very wicked to become so poor.
But still,
The old man stood there,
Though the snow was falling on his shoulders and on his bare head.
Then give me a copper,
He said,
Just one penny,
That today I may not starve.
Certainly not,
Cried the old gentleman,
I tell you I never give to beggars at all.
But the old man did not move.
Then,
He said,
Give me some of the broken victuals from your table,
That I may creep into a doorway and eat a Christmas dinner there.
I will give you nothing,
Cried the old gentleman,
Stamping his foot.
Go away,
Go away at once,
Or I shall send for the policeman to take you away.
The old beggarman put on his hat and turned quietly away,
But what the old gentleman thought was very odd was,
That instead of seeming distressed,
He was laughing merrily,
And then he looked back at the window and called out some words,
But they were in a foreign tongue,
And the old gentleman could not understand them.
So,
He returned to his comfortable armchair by the fire,
Still murmuring angrily that beggars ought not to be allowed to be in the streets.
Next morning,
The snow fell more thickly than ever,
And the streets were almost impassable,
But it did not trouble the old gentleman,
For he knew he need not go out and get wet or cold.
But in the morning,
When he came down to breakfast,
To his great surprise,
There was a cat on the hearth-rug in front of the fire,
Looking into it and blinking lazily.
Now the old gentleman had never had any animal in his house before,
And he at once went to it and said,
Shoo,
Shoo,
And tried to turn it out,
But the cat did not move,
And when the old gentleman looked at it nearer,
He could not help admiring it very much.
It was a very large cat,
Grey and black,
And had extremely long soft hair and a thick soft ruff round its neck.
Moreover,
It looked very well fed and cared for,
And as if it had always lived in comfortable places.
Somehow it seemed to the old gentleman to suit the room and the rug and the fire,
And to make the whole place look more prosperous and cozy even than it had done before.
A fine creature,
A very handsome cat,
He said to himself.
I should really think that a reward would be offered for such an animal,
As it has evidently been well looked after and fed,
So it would be a pity to turn it away in a hurry.
One thing struck him as very funny about the cat,
And that was that though the ground was deep in snow and slush outside,
The cat was quite dry,
And its fur looked as if it had been combed and brushed.
The old gentleman called to his cook and asked if he knew how the cat had come in,
But she declared she had not seen it before,
And she said she believed it must have come down the chimney as all the doors and windows had been shut and bolted.
However,
There it was,
And when his own breakfast was finished,
The old gentleman gave it a large saucer of milk,
Which it lapped up not greedily or in a hurry,
But as if it were quite used to good food,
And had had plenty of it always.
It really is a very handsome animal,
And most uncommon,
Said the old gentleman.
I shall keep it a while,
And look out for the reward.
But though he looked at all the notices in the street and in the newspapers,
The old gentleman could see no notice about a reward being offered for a grey and black cat,
So it stayed on with him from day to day.
Every day the cat seemed to his master to grow more and more handsome.
The old gentleman never loved anything but himself,
But he began to take a sort of interest in the strange cat,
And to wonder what sort it was,
If it was a Persian or a Siamese or some curious new sort of which he had never heard.
He liked the sound of its lazy,
Contented purring after its food,
Which seemed to speak of nothing but comfort and affluence.
So the cat remained on till nearly a year had passed away.
It was not very long before Christmas that an acquaintance of the old gentleman's came to his rooms on business.
He knew a great deal about all sorts of animals and loved them for their own sakes,
But of course he had never talked to the old gentleman about them,
Because he knew he did not love anything.
But when he saw the grey cat,
He said at once,
Do you know that this is a very valuable creature,
And I should think would be worth a great deal.
At these words the old gentleman's heart beat high.
Here he thought,
Would be a piece of great luck if a stray cat could make him richer than he was before.
Why,
Who would want to buy it?
He said.
I don't know anybody who would be so foolish as to give any money for a cat,
Which is of no use in life except to catch mice,
When you can so easily get one for nothing.
Ah,
But many people are very fond of cats,
And would give much for rare sorts like this.
If you want to sell it,
The right thing would be to send it to the cat show,
And there you would most likely take a price for it,
And then someone would be sure to buy it,
And it may be would give a great deal.
I don't know what kind it is,
Or where it comes from,
For I have never seen one the least like it,
But for that reason it is very sure to be valuable.
Upon this the old gentleman almost laughed with joy.
Where is the cat show?
He asked,
And when is it to be held?
There will be a cat show in this city quite soon,
Said his acquaintance,
And it will be a particularly good one,
For the new princess is quite crazy about cats,
And she is coming to it,
And it is said that she doesn't mind what she gives for a cat if she sees one she likes.
So then he told the old gentleman how he should send his name and the cat's name to the people who manage the show,
And where it was to be held,
And went away,
Leaving the old gentleman well pleased,
But to himself he laughed and said,
I don't think that old man thinks of anything on earth but making money.
How pleased he was at the idea of selling that beautiful cat if he could get something for it.
When he had gone,
The grey puss came and rubbed itself about his master's legs,
And looked up in his face as though it had understood the conversation,
And did not like the idea of being sent to the show,
But the old gentleman was delighted,
And sat by the fire and mused on what he was likely to get for the cat,
And wondered if it would not take a price.
I shall be sorry to have to send it away,
He said.
Still,
If I could get a good round sum of money,
It would be a real sin not to take it.
So you will have to go,
Puss,
And it really was extraordinary good luck for me that you ever came here.
The days passed,
And Christmas Day came,
And again the snow fell and the ground was white.
The wind whistled and blew,
And on Christmas morning the old gentleman stood and looked out of the window at the falling snow and rain,
And the grey cat stood beside him,
And rubbed itself against his hand.
He rather liked stroking it,
It was so soft and comfortable,
And when he touched the long hair he always thought of how much money he should get for it.
This morning he saw no old beggar man outside the window,
And he said to himself,
I really think they manage better with the beggars than they used to,
And are clearing them from the town.
But just as he was leaving the window,
He heard something scratching outside,
And there crawled on the windowsill another cat.
It was a very different creature to the grey cat on the rug.
It was a poor,
Thin,
Wretched looking animal with ribs sticking through its fur,
And it mewed in the most pathetic manner and beat itself against the pane.
When it saw it,
The handsome grey puss was very much excited and ran to and fro and purred loudly.
Oh,
You disgraceful looking beast,
Said the old gentleman angrily.
Go away,
This is not the place for an animal like you.
There is nothing here for stray cats,
And you look as if you had not eaten anything for months.
How different to my puss here,
And he tapped against the window to drive it away.
But still it would not go,
And the old gentleman felt very indignant,
For the sound of its mewing was terrible.
So he opened the window,
And though he did not like to touch the miserable animal,
He took it up and hurled it away into the snow,
And it trotted away,
And in the deep snow he could not see the way it went.
But that evening,
After he had had his Christmas dinner,
As he sat by the fire with the grey puss on the hearth rug beside him,
He heard again the noise outside the window,
And then he heard the stray cat crying and mewing to be let in,
And again the grey and black cat became very much excited and dashed about the room and jumped at the window as if it wanted to open it.
I shall really be quite glad when I have sold you at the cat show,
Said the old gentleman,
If I am going to have all sorts of stray cats worrying here,
And for the second time he opened the window and seized the trembling half-starved creature,
And this time he threw it with all his might as hard as he could throw.
And now there's an end of you,
I hope,
He said as he heard it fall,
And settled himself again in his armchair,
And the grey puss returned to the hearth rug,
But it did not purr or rub itself against its master.
Next morning,
When he came down to breakfast,
The old gentleman poured out a saucer of milk for his cat as usual.
You must be well fed if you are going to be shown at the show,
He said,
And I must not mind a little extra expense to make you look well,
It will all be paid back,
So this morning you shall have some fish as well as your milk.
Then he put the saucer of milk down by the cat,
But it never touched it,
But sat and looked at the fire with its tail curled around it.
Oh,
Well,
If you have had so much already that you don't want it,
You can take it when you do.
So he went away to his work,
And left the saucer of milk by the fire.
But when he came back in the evening,
There was a saucer of milk and the piece of fish and the grey cat had not touched them.
This is rather odd,
Said the old gentleman,
However,
I suppose the cook has been feeding you.
Next morning,
It was just the same.
When he poured out the milk,
The cat wouldn't lap it,
But sat and looked at the fire.
The old gentleman felt a little anxious,
For he fancied that the animal's fur did not look so bright as usual,
And when in the evening,
And the next day and the next,
It would not lap its milk,
Or even smell the nice pieces of fish he gave it.
He was really uncomfortable.
The creature's getting ill,
He said,
And this is most provoking.
What will be the use of my having kept it for a year,
If now I cannot show it?
He scolded his cook for having given it unwholesome food,
But the cook swore it had had nothing.
Anyhow,
It was growing terribly thin,
And all day long it sat in front of the fire,
With its tail hanging down,
Not curled up neatly round it,
And its coat looked dull and began to come out in big tufts of hair.
Now really,
I shall have to do something,
Said the old gentleman.
It is enough to make anyone angry.
No one would believe that this could be a prize cat.
It looks almost as wretched as that stray beast that came to the window on Christmas Day.
So he went to a cat and dog doctor,
Who lived near,
And asked him to come in and see a very beautiful cat which had nothing the matter with it,
But which refused to eat its food.
The cat's doctor came and looked at the cat,
And then looked very grave,
And shook his head,
And looked at it again.
I don't know what sort of cat it is,
He said,
For I never saw any other like it,
But it is a very handsome beast,
And must be very valuable.
Well,
I will leave you some physic for it,
And I hope you may be able to pull it round,
But with these foreign cats you never know what ails them,
And they are hard to cure.
Now the day was close at hand,
When the cat should have been sent to the show,
And the old gentleman was getting more and more uneasy,
For the grey cat lay upon the rug all day and never moved,
And its ribs could almost be seen through its side,
So thin had it grown,
And oddly enough,
The old gentleman,
Who had never cared for anyone or anything in his life except himself,
Began to feel very unhappy,
Not only because of not getting the money,
But because he did not like to think of losing the cat itself.
He sent for his friend,
Who at first told him about the cat show,
And asked his advice,
But his friend could not tell him what to do with it.
Well,
Well,
He said,
This is a bad business,
For I have told everyone that you are going to exhibit a most extraordinarily beautiful cat,
And now this poor creature is really fit for nothing but the knacker's yard.
I think maybe some naturalist would give you a good price for its skin,
As it is so very uncommon,
And if I were you I should kill it at once,
For if it dies a natural death,
Its skin won't be worth anything.
At these words,
The grey cat lifted its head and looked straight into the old gentleman's face,
As if it could understand,
And for the first time for many a long year,
The old gentleman felt a feeling of pity in his heart,
And was angry with his friend for his suggestion.
I won't have it killed,
He cried.
Why,
I declare,
Though it does seem absurd,
I have lived with this creature for a year,
And I feel as if it were my friend,
And if it would only get well and sit up on the hearth rug,
I shouldn't mind about the money one bit.
At this his friend was greatly astonished,
And went away wondering,
While the old gentleman sat by the fire and watched the cat lying panting on the rug.
Poor pussy,
Poor old pussy,
He said.
It is a pity that you can't speak and tell me what you want.
I am sure I would give it to you.
Just as he spoke,
There came a noise outside,
And he heard a mewing,
And looking through the window,
He saw the same thin,
Ugly brown cat that had come there last Christmas,
And it looked as thin and wretched as ever.
When she heard the sound,
The grey cat stood up on her tottering feet and tried to walk to the window.
This time,
The old gentleman did not drive it away,
But looked at it,
And almost felt sorry for it.
It looked almost as thin and ill as his own grey puss.
You are an ugly brute,
He said,
And I don't want you always hanging about.
Still,
Maybe you would be none the worse for a little milk now,
And it might make you look better.
So he opened the window a little,
And then he shut it,
And then he opened it again,
And this time,
The brown cat crawled into the room,
And went straight to the hearth rug to the grey puss.
There was a big saucer of milk on the hearth rug,
And the brown cat began to lap at once,
And the old gentleman never stopped it.
He thought as he watched it,
That it grew fatter under his eyes as it drank,
And when the saucer was empty,
He took a jug and gave it some more.
I really am an old fool,
He said.
That is a whole pen worth of milk.
No sooner had he poured out the fresh milk,
Than the grey cat raised itself,
And sitting down by the saucer began to lap it as well,
As if it were quite well.
The old gentleman stared with surprise.
Well,
This is the strangest thing,
He said.
So,
He took some fish,
And gave it to the strange cat,
And then,
When he offered some to his own puss,
It ate it as if there was nothing the matter.
This is most remarkable,
Said the old gentleman.
Perhaps it was the company of a creature of its own sort,
That my cat needed after all,
And the grey cat purred,
And began to rub itself against his legs.
So,
For the next few days,
The two cats lay together on the hearth rug,
And though it was too late to send the grey cat to the show,
The old gentleman never thought about it.
So pleased was he that it had got well again.
But seven nights after the stray cat had come in from outside,
As the old gentleman lay asleep in bed at night,
He felt something rub itself against his face,
And heard his cat purring softly,
As though it wanted to say goodbye.
Be quiet,
Puss,
And lie still till the morning,
He said.
But when he came down to have his breakfast in the morning,
There sat the brown tabby,
Looking fat and comfortable by the fire.
But the grey cat was not there,
And though they looked for it everywhere,
No one could find it,
Though all the windows and doors had been shut,
So they could not think how it could have got away.
The old gentleman was very unhappy about it,
But he looked at the strange cat on the hearth and said,
It would be unkind now to send this poor thing away,
So it may as well stay here.
When she heard him speaking of its being unkind,
His old cook burst out laughing.
Perhaps,
She said,
T'was a fairy cat,
As it could get away through bolts and locks,
And nothing but a fairy could have taught my master to think of a thing being unkind or not.
I only hope that now he'll think of someone in this world besides himself and his money.
And sure enough,
From that time,
The old gentleman began to forget about his money and to care for the people about him,
And it was all the doing of the strange cat who had come from no one knew where and gone away to no one knew where.
Sweet dreams,
My friend.
Sleep well.
