# 15 The Cat and the Minister

Here is a strange true story about a cat. A minister made a call on an elderly lady. He entered her house. She quickly said, "Please do not try to pet the cat. She's nasty. She'll give you a bad scratch." The minister replied, "Thanks for telling me, I won't try to pet her."

In the meantime, the cat crawled out from under the stove. She stretched. She looked at the visitor. She circled his chair. Then she jumped into his lap. She curled up and went to sleep. The lady gasped. She blurted, "She's never done that before. Not ever. My goodness. What has gotten into her?"

The half-hour visit was over. The minister stirred to leave. The cat nimbly and quietly leaped from his lap. She went right to the door. She meowed once and looked up at the minister. The minister opened the door. The cat walked out. She stopped. She looked over her shoulder at the minister. She meowed. Then she started across the lawn. She kept looking over her shoulder. The minister saw that she wanted him to follow. So he did. The cat led him to the far side of the house. It was shady there. She stopped in front of a low overhanging shrub. The cat meowed. She looked directly under the shrub. The minister crouched and knelt. Sure enough. There in the dark underside of the shrub was a nest of dry grass. Five kittens nestled there.

The mother cat meowed proudly. She looked up at her new friend. She arched her back. She rubbed her body against his legs. The minister bent over and stroked her silky fur. How did this all happen? No doubt it was cat sense. From the beginning the cat knew she had found a friend!

# 15 貓與牧師

這是一個關於貓的奇怪真實故事。一位牧師去拜訪一位老婦人。他進入她的房子。她迅速說道：「請不要試圖撫摸那隻貓。她很兇。她會狠狠地抓傷你。」牧師回答：「謝謝你告訴我，我不會試圖撫摸她。」

與此同時，貓從爐子底下爬出來。她伸展身體。她看著訪客。她繞著他的椅子走。然後她跳上他的大腿。她蜷縮起來睡著了。老婦人倒抽一口氣。她脫口而出：「她從來沒有這樣做過。從來沒有。我的天啊。她是怎麼了？」

半小時的拜訪結束了。牧師動身準備離開。貓敏捷而安靜地從他腿上跳下來。她直接走向門口。她喵了一聲，抬頭看著牧師。牧師打開門。貓走了出去。她停下來。她回頭看牧師。她喵喵叫。然後她開始穿過草坪。她不斷回頭看。牧師看出她想要他跟隨。於是他照做了。貓帶他來到房子的遠側。那裡有陰涼。她在一棵低垂的灌木前停下。貓喵喵叫。她直視灌木下方。牧師蹲下並跪下。果然。在灌木黑暗的下方有一個乾草築成的窩。五隻小貓偎依在那裡。

貓媽媽自豪地喵喵叫。她抬頭看著她的新朋友。她弓起背。她用身體摩擦他的腿。牧師彎腰撫摸她絲滑的毛皮。這一切是怎麼發生的？無疑是貓的直覺。從一開始貓就知道她找到了一個朋友！