Page 26 - Fables volume 1

How the Cats Took Care of Complaints

The visitor pulled up alongside the only other car in the small
graveled parking area at the end of the driveway. He got out of his car,
and then stooped back inside to pick up his briefcase and his suit
jacket, both resting neatly on the passenger’s seat. He slipped on the
jacket, pulled back his shoulders, and walked toward the house.
On his right, a vine-covered picket fence extended around the sides
and back of the building; through it he caught glimpses of the back
yard as he passed by. Yes, there were plenty of cats on the property:
sunning themselves, rolling on their backs in the dirt and fighting
mock aerial battles. Some took note of the approaching visitor; of
those, a few immediately started walking toward the back of the house
at a slow but deliberate pace.
But the visitor did not notice them: his attention had already been
captured, first by a large orange Persian tomcat surveying him coolly
from a chaise longue on the porch, then by a small engraved plaque
over the doorbell.

Sarah B. Oliphant Foundation
_________

Please Ring Bell and Wait
_________
No Solicitors !!

After pressing the button, he turned to look more closely at the cat.
He realized it was in a position to have observed him coming, all the
way from the street to the porch. Yet it had not moved a muscle,
showing no fear of the unfamiliar human who had come so close.
This one certainly looks healthy enough, he thought; no visible
bruises, singed fur or signs of malnutrition. Still—

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