Monday, March 9, 2015

3 The Cat, Claudipus And The Mouse For Alice's Birthday

Alice knew that a field mouse was brown and a house mouse was grey because she saw field mice at Three Choirs Vineyard and a grey mouse in the house at home.

"Didn't your cat catch the mice?" I asked.

"Only once a year," said Alice. "On my birthday. Each year for three years, Claudipus caught a mouse and brought it to me - on my birthday!"

"How did the cat know it was your birthday?" I asked. "Did it see the cards and people giving you gifts?"

"I don't know," replied Alice. "It was uncanny."

"Why was the cat called Claudipus?"

"After the TV series, I Claudius, starring Derek Jacobi."

Claudipus is no more. But Claire, the daughter of Alice and Loudon, who lives in California, has a sophisticated cat called Zak and a feral ginger cat, just a moggie. When Alice speaks to Claire on Skype, the two cats are sometimes having a friendly spat, but sometimes they sit next to eat other.

Alice likes cats - and dogs. A dog once saved the family.

(See next post)

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