| Show water Some bricks were at hand to keep the cat submerged for the required length of time With the cat insidesecurelytied guiny sack she quickly pushed it under the surface and reached forbrick The resulting turmoil in the tub was viclent was stumned Water flew in all directions had hear of Fexican jumping beans but never haiseenjumping or flying gunny sack That burlap bag was jet-propelled We finally caught the THING and with shaking hands untied the knot Tom leaped out The blur he made on departure suggestedlaunch for the moon time Several days later mother decided to try again she found an old iron stove top which completely This covered the top of the tub We repeated the performance with this no escape strategy held my breath The turbulance in the tub shook the ground then gradually subsided When all was quiet she returned to the house She looked dejected There waslunp in my throat went over to the garden area to fimdsuitable burial spot The soil near an apple tree was loose and moist fromrecent watering duga grave The lump in my throat would not go away pushed the iron top off the tub 1ifted the sack from the water and gingerly carried it to the grave Tom slid from the sack inlifeless plunge to the bottom of the hole straightened his turned head inlast gesture and hastily filled the grave With such an involvement in 1ife and death sleep that night did not come easy Next morning however the burden of guilt evaporated We heardfaint scratching on the Kitchen screen door There sat Tom his eyes full of mu his coat wet bedraggled and dirty He greeted us withfaint meow We washed the mud from his eyes as best we could cleaned his fur and gave himbit of warm milk From then on he was known as 0ld Nine-Lives --sire to many and Concert laster -extraordinaire Source Personal experience upge |
