The Second Cat Megapack. George Zebrowski

The Second Cat Megapack - George  Zebrowski


Скачать книгу
to hide themselves in the house; she could open her eyes now in the mornings without the fear of being watched and waited for by those smooth-coated fiends.

      Only one cat remained persistent—a handsome tabby with whiskers that must have been at least four inches long, and a heavy, lustrous tail that curved the air in a gesture that was almost a bow.

      Disturbing though his persistence undoubtedly was, life was infinitely more tolerable with one cat than with a score. Beyond fixing her with his bright, yellow eyes every time she went in and out of the house, he did nothing to ingratiate himself.

      The woman who hated cats saw nothing ominous in his patient squatting—she had no premonition of disaster.

      Then one day while polishing a bedroom mirror she received a shock.

      Of late she had been troubled by a twitching on each side of her mouth; had taken it as an incipient heat-spot and applied calamine lotion. Today, however, the mirror reflected two small mounds of flesh perforated like a pepper pot and with long strong whiskers sprouting from the holes.

      The poor women went very pale and troubled.

      Feverishly she searched a drawer for a small pair of tweezers and holding the skin now with one hand she caught one large fine whisker and jerked.…

      It was a painful operation and, as the whisker left the follicle under the skin, the woman cried aloud—

      “Ow!”

      She listened as the cry echoed through the room. A horrid suspicion darkened her mind. She tried the sound again experimentally then she sank into a chair, completely robbed of her strength.

      She had not said “Ow”—she had said “Meow.”

      The days that followed were nightmarish; yet, by degrees, she became accustomed to the meowing and the whiskers; when she went out to shop she wore a veil and delivered notes over the counter so that she would not have to use her voice. She studied her reflection anxiously every day but there were no further signs of metamorphosis; apart from a growing urge to drink more milk, she remained normal.

      She still—thank goodness!—had one big toe and four graduated ones on each foot; her hands were not yet paws, and she had not started to grow a tail. It seemed not unlikely that, in time, she would lose the cat-cry and the unsightly whiskers.

      Alas, for her optimism. One day, as she was crossing the hall, a mouse darted in front of her. The woman’s eyes brightened, she held herself tense, then—she pounced.

      She was too intent on her prey to notice that she now had paws and claws. It was lovely to feel the soft trembling body of the mouse between her pads. Allowing it to run a little way along the polished floor she sprang after it and tapped it gently on the head. This was fun. Why had she never played this game before? Again she released it, but this time it darted under the clothes cupboard.

      In a flash the woman followed but the cupboard balked her. She still possessed a human body and could not squeeze herself into the small aperture between the floor and the piece of furniture. Up and down she ran in a frenzy, peering first one side and then the other. The mouse had escaped, however.

      The woman ‘meowed’ heartbrokenly and then, in the manner of all cats, sat down and began to wash behind her ears.

      It was late that night when the transition became complete. There was a full moon and the air reverberated with strange sounds. The woman who hated cats drank the last of a bottle of milk, sprang through an open window, and stalked down the garden path.

      The handsome tabby was waiting by the gate. He gave a deep-throated purr as she approached and together they disappeared into the shadows.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SdcRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADgEAAAMAAAABD6AAAAEBAAMAAAABC7gAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA tgEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAvAEbAAUAAAAB AAAAxAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAeAAAAzAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA6gITAAMAAAABAAEAAIKYAAIA AAAZAAAA/odpAAQAAAABAAABGAAAAYgACAAIAAgACvyAAAAnEAAK/IAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9z aG9wIENTNiAoV2luZG93cykAMjAxMzowNzoxNiAxNDo0MTozOABKZXNzZS1sZWUgTGFuZyAtIEZv dG9saWEAAAAHkAAABwAAAAQwMjIwkAQAAgAAABQAAAFykQEABwAAAAQBAgMAoAAABwAAAAQwMTAw oAEAAwAAAAEAAQAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAJYoAMABAAAAAEAAAMgAAAAADIwMTE6MDM6MTQgMjM6Mzc6 NDUAAAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAB1gEbAAUAAAABAAAB3gEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIB AAQAAAABAAAB5gICAAQAAAABAAAlbgAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00A Af/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwPFRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwM EQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQODg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwM EREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEIAKAAeAMBIgACEQEDEQH/ 3QAEAAj/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEA AgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMicYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFi MzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF 1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcGBTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFx IhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kSTVKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPT dePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AObS V/8AY7W/Vh/1iyOq4mPQRFNFTHZNhuLfVqwb3ixjKMl/+F/RfoPz1p9Y+p7ekdK6jmZV2ZdbiYeM aC0tqqdmZL7cexrPQrb6teM/7J+j9R/85+kWnLncQ24peQ/75y48jlO/DHzP/evP7XRMGEN2RQ3f ueAKzFjgHFrD+7Za1rqq3/yHvW99eukdP6DlUYnTsBmIx1VuQ3qT7XW3WPrrNLqneo+x9FDH5NVn /DWs/RrV6sMk/UcYnQLG0UNpxOnZ/S8mh1d9T73NY61jP0WzKyrM1n2h9tNtWSz9Zx7vU/nmT50i MZRh8xPzG/TFkhyIMpRlMnhA+UV6pPMDpfWnV49lfS8pzcy0UYu5razZY5r7mbWWvFrKfSqstfkv q9GqpnqWK6fqv1dvUenYBtwrD1V9zKMjHtfdXX9m1zPXa6uj1H1e9n6J39I/Q2+kuwyK2X/4xsRz cbKr/ZWDe9j7GxRd7aK2s6dJ2PfT9vezJs/f/RLF6O9vResYVPU+oAZOJ0m0bsx9TMTFzsh1Nv2B ttTdrL/Srtfd61l111P6RV5c7m/eEfIf98zx5LCP0TLzLVx/qdVkdU6Lj19Ruyen9VpuybrG1Nx7 msoazY6tzd/p05VuTT9Kv1dn+H/SKxg/Vvo/Sup0UdVxxl5GD0vM6ln/AGgm6uyLW04e+m4vx2el R9o2bK1GzrdfT7zkYT7nU4XRB0npeT6ThRdkhzPVyqcq306mYtXpY7ftN76q7P0no+qhZ319w8jq fUcyvBZl0ZuJXgspttIeKmetZf6v7Oq6hTtyLMvZ/Sq/5lV5czxfNk4unzcbZx8vrWPHqf3Y6tX6 249eP1TBrZi0Ylg6XQ/LZjViphuse/cPSZ/ovQs9P/jFjouR1LqnXusnIyMb9bzy1gawhrGtpre5 ldVb32u27GW2WPfb/OWfzaa/HyMc7cip9JPG9pbPw3LT5PLhMI445ISyakwjIGW/7rm/EOXz480j lxTxggVxxMNEaaE6StNJaEykmhJLFJOkkm3/0MzNzOl2/VL6v9MturByepPzuo7XB7qqTbdX62RX XudU12Pks+n+4tvrf12wsxtlWN6+djWdUxsgsFT2tGFjtxbbWVOyfQrc+7Lx7Xsr/wCEXKNa1hJY 0MLjLi0BpJ8XbfpK63Bsr6bf1bIafs9LR6LO91jnNpoZ/Jo9axnq2fufzSt58OHBE5c+WgTVAeqe Sfywx/vTk0sPMZc0hjwYrNdTxcMR+8j+tfVOm9Y6tfmV4lmC/Lq227n+tdcW+k2i77NS62nHrx68 fb9P9Kr+V9bMjqNjbOoevjNZdXlT03HpqL76dn2fJzPtOVn25foNqr9OjZs9lf8AOelUsDb9lx7L P5y2C57zoXv8/wC19FTxrH2UMssjc4SdvHOkSsjmecOSIGIGGOBMRK/1sr9W/wCi9hyX/FzFGXBz WaUuayQ96UMQjHBir9X+lx8b0HXX4T+lVdRbdb1i7MsbXh5WZa+wMD91t76KqjiNx9rMfZbVUyn9 J+iu/wBGsUZGeKG4wy7KsZvGPj7ceuT32Yjad/8AWse96ibfUxcDH5bR9qyOeHX5FlFYj+SzEtd/ 19CZdvybahxU1k/F28/9TsVICdESkchEpSvJ65D1e3H+76OD5W58L5HlfbE8uOMpZMhxYr+QjFHi Po/v48377VbtGZlvubZe2gMc1zmvuLBG+15eRZ6e57vc9zleseK2OsdwwFx+AEqxjW7egdepLiBd kYVcePqOaH/+B1PVLNk4tjGiXWD02jzf+ib/ANJ6cZccqIqjGG/+rxT4v/HGfkcxxw54CMIY+Wnl MOGPCf5zNM8f9z0cD0f1f6BlV34vVsu5kis2U41bXaevXt/TXWbfdXXY72V1/TXSE7mljwHNPLSJ B/slFdW1h2N+iz2geTfaFAtWNkznLISl0+Wv0Y/MHIMpTJlkkck5/PKX6WnC5WX9XenZMupBxbT3 r1ZP8qk/+i/TXPZ/Sszp5m9s1Ew25mrD8/zHf112hamMOBY9oe1whzSJBB7OatTkfj3N8sRGcjzO H9zKf1kf9nm+f/H44Obzfwjl84JgPZyfvQHpP96DwCS2+t9CqxQMnFc1lbzH2d7wHT/3X9Q7rf8A iv5xYTrGtqtvIeaccht9za3urrcdGsuurY6quxzvzHvXYcrz3L8zhGbFMcJPCRP0ThP9ycf3nm8/ KZsOQ45wJkNRwjiEo/vRXKSsv6X1llV9r8CylmLijNvdkPZVtpd6oq9gddb61z8a5lVDq/VST/vO G64x+z/GR91z1fAf2/4vzP8A/9Gp0Lo/2x/2nIH6rWYDf9I4fm/8W3/Cf9tq79cbCOmUUt0FuVU0 gae2ttuRH/gLFtMrrprZRU0NrrAa1o7ALnPrkT6vS659pdkWEebW01t/8/PWDzHP5Oe52OSXpxw4 vYx/5uEImf8A4ZPg/WOv8M5CHL+zjA4pTyY/dl+9648X+C8/d6B9JuS810PuqFzx+bXva653530a mvRmt6JTWGVt6jnivRu91WFUWj6O7YLsz6KqZ9Nl1bGViZdDtQIa5r63O1/d3p+oWmvFsDAXWPaQ 1o58HP8A6rNysCNiEQT6ib
Скачать книгу