Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-04-19
TIE Cats Paradise
BY EMILE ZOLA.
A Whimsical Sketch.


An aunt has bequeathed me an An
CORA cat which is the most foolish AMI
NAL that l know. This cat told me the
following story one winter evening as
we were sitting together by the fire:
was years old at the time and the
fattest and cutest cat that you can inn
agine. At that tender age was full of
concelt and despised all the quiet COM
forts of our home. Yet deeply indebted
was l to the providence that had
brought me to your aunt. The good
lady worshiped me. My bedroom was
in the bottom of closet, and 1t was
handsomely furnished with a feather
pillow and a tricolored blanket. My
food was equally excellent; never any
bread or soup, but always meat-good,
raw meat.
Yet amid all these Joys and comforts
1 had only one desire. knew only one
dream namely, to slip through the
open window and escape over the
roofs. l was tired of caresses; 1 was
disgusted with the softness of my bed;
was so fat that felt horrifed when
ever caught sight of myself; hence it
was that felt bored all day long.
l ought to have said that could see
the opposite roof from our window
whenever / stretched my neck out
little. There four cats had great fun
every day prancing around with bris-
Ting hair and tails erect as they sang
their joyous songs amid the sunlight
on the blue tiles. Such a wonderful
sight have never before seen.
The very day when first saw them
made up my mind what to do. True
happiness was only to be found on that
roof beyond the window which your
aunt always so carefully closed. de-
termined to escape. felt that there
must be something else in life besides
raw meat. Yonder lay the unknown,
the ideal, world. One day they forgot
to close the kitchen window. l sprang
out on small roof below.
How beautiful the roofs werel Broad
cutters ran around them. and these /
followed with unspeakable delight, my
paws meanwhile sinking deep in soft,
warm mud. | seemed to be walking
on velvet, and the sun shone warmly
down on me, and its hot rays seemed
to melt my fat.
Yet I must admit that l was trem-
bling In every limb. Ny joy was min
gled with fear and anguish. Especial
ly do remember horrible occurrence,
which almost made me fling myself
down on the pavement From the peak
of an adjoining house came three cats
rushing toward me with fearful mi
aouws. When they saw my terror
they laughed aud said they had only
intended to scare me. When | heard
that. began to miaouw with them.
oh, it was great sport! The rascals
were by no means as fat as was. and
much fun they made of me as rolled
myself around ike a ball on the sun
warmed zinc roof.
An old tomcat was one Of the COM
pany, and he became very friendly to-
ward me. He even offered to train me
properly for outdoor life, an offer which
1 gladly accepted.
All, how far away was your aunt's
comfortable home! | drank some wa
ter on the roof, and no sugared milk
ever tasted as sweet to me. Every
thing, indeed, seemed beautiful
very handsome young lady cat was
-x,A nd Of fbo ,trrk,&
of her fell in love.
Until that time these delightful
smooth skinned creatures had only ap-
peared to me in dreams. So | ap-
preached the young lady and was about
to pay her a compliment when one of
my comrades bit me horribly in the
neck. | uttered a fearful YELL
"Bahv' said the old tomcat soothing
Iy as he drew me away. You'll soon
see lots of Others"
After walking for an hour l felt ter
ribly hungry.
''What do cats eat on the roofY'
asked my friend the tomcat.
"Whateyer they can ind." he an
swered.
This reply filed me with despair, for
] found no food anywhere, though !
hunted very eagerly. Finally l saw a
young working girl preparing her
breakfast in an attic, and on the table
In front of the window was a beautiful
outlet with most appetizing smell.
There's chance for me-" thought
in all innocence, and sprang on the
table and grasped the outlet.
The moment. however, that the
working girl caught sight Of me she
raised her broom and struck me fear
fui blow on the back. | dropped the
meat and rushed out of the attic.
what are you about7" remarked the
tomcat. when you see meat on a ta-