小貓毛毛

I t wasn’t long after I opened my eyes that Master took me home. One minute， I was 1）snuggled up with my brothers and sisters， and the next I was roughly pulled from our enclosure and held up in the air.

It took a while to accept my Master. This strange place was unfamiliar， with giant monuments of wood and leather， and a giant toilet that I quickly learned was not meant for my kind. The Master and her family walked across their giant toilet， played games on it， even napped on it. I had a small box of my own， and every day my deposits mysteriously disappeared， no matter how deep I buried them.

The Master and her family had strange voices， too. I only learned a few words of their tongue；“Whiskers” （which was me）， “no，” “cat，” “come here，” and a handful of other phrases that I knew to be 2）crucial for my interaction with them.

Every morning， I engaged in a helpful ritual to wake up Master. She never got up when the horrible box on her nightstand started 3）screeching， so to try to get her to turn the damn thing off， I’d slip into her bedroom and 4）nuzzle her face. Sometimes， this would annoy her， but most times she would pull me in for a snuggle and rub my ears.

Master’s husband loved me， too. He loved to help me hunt the 5）elusive red dot and would even crawl on the floor with me when the 6）menace would be on the carpet， the wall， or even my paws.

The third one， the only name I knew other than my own， was Kara. Kara was the Master and her husband’s only kitten. While I respected and adored my Master， Kara was my favorite.

I was certain Kara knew me on a different level. I would test my theory. For instance， I would present myself while she was engaged in various tasks， and see how she reacted. She was never cruel， and often recognized that I was in 7）dire need of some treats， attention， or love. The only time she displayed anger at me was when I had killed the white snake. I thought I had done her a favor， but apparently， that was wrong. The terrible sounds that came from her mouth， I never understood， but I did know to never do anything of the sort again.

As Kara grew taller and more magnificent， she seemed to be boundless with energy. Her time from home grew longer， too.

As I grew older， I marveled at Kara’s ability to be so

8）spry. She and her kind were so flawless and never aged. With me， I felt like I’d never be a kitten again. The first time I neglected to deposit my waste in the box， I was yelled at severely. But I couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t move fast enough.

Then， one day， Kara left. I waited patiently that night， but never saw her return.

Days went by. Perhaps months. I don’t even know.

I napped often in Kara’s room， hoping when I would wake up， she would be there…

One day， Master came to me as I laid on Kara’s bed. In Master’s hand was the small box that everyone seemed to have permanently in their grip. She spoke into the box：“Kara！” My ears perked up. Master held the box to me.

“Whiskers！”

“Kara！” I gasped. I could hear her voice， but I didn’t see her. Where was she？ I was so excited that I didn’t realize I released my 9）bladder until Master 10）clucked her tongue unhappily and picked me up to clean me off.

The next morning， something was different. Master didn’t make me my normal breakfast. I hadn’t been eating much anyway. But she did bring me a piece of delicious fish from her own plate， and it was very good. I wanted to get onto my viewing post， but my joints hurt so bad. Master must have sensed this， and she picked me up to place me on the highest spot.

I napped there for a few hours， then woke up and found that we were in the White Man’s place. Master was bringing me here more as I got older. How strange it was that none of them ever changed； nothing around me ever did， and only I had become different.

Master carried me to the back， and laid me down on the table.

“What’s wrong？” I asked， reaching a paw out to her.

Water leaked from her eyes and she reached out， taking my paw between her fingers. “Good cat， Whiskers，” I heard her say.

The White Man came in， with a pointy thing in his hands. He scratched my ears and my chin. Ahh， my favorite spots. He knew. They all knew. They all know so much about me. I only wish I had more time to learn more about them.

The White Man brought the point to my arm. Usually， it would hurt， but not today. As he squeezed the pointy thing， I suddenly felt very warm and—

“Where is he？”

Kara？

“Where is Whiskers？ Am I too late？ The traffic from the university was horrible and I didn’t think I’d make it in time and please， oh god， I hope I made it in time—”

It was Kara. Kara was here！

The door of the room burst open， and Kara stood there with a red face that matched her hair. “Is he gone？” she 11）blurted out.

The White Man shook his head. “I just gave him a calming 12）sedative.”

“Kara…” I whispered weakly.

“Oh， Whiskers，” she cried. She ran over to me and placed her head on my side.

I lifted my head. It was so hard， I was so weak. All I could 13）muster was a soft meow， and laid my paw on her hand. For some reason， this made her cry even more. I don’t know why she was so sad. I lived a happy life. My only regret is that I would not live as long as her.

I felt another gentle poking on my arm. My vision started getting 14）fuzzy， but I wasn’t scared. I had Kara there with me.

My eyelids were so heavy， but I struggled to watch her. Soon， it was hard to keep them open at all.

“I love you， Whiskers，” Kara said.

“I love you， too，” I whispered back， and I closed my eyes.

我睜開眼睛后不久主人就把我?guī)Щ亓思摇Ｇ耙豢蹋疫€和我的兄弟姐妹彼此依偎著，下一刻，就有人隨手把我從我們的圍欄里拉了出來，舉在空中。

我花了一段時(shí)間才接受我的主人。這個(gè)地方很新奇，周圍聳立著用木頭和皮革造成的巨大碑牌，還有一個(gè)巨大的廁所，我很快就認(rèn)識(shí)到這不是為我們貓而設(shè)的。主人和她的家人會(huì)走到他們的大廁所里，他們會(huì)坐在上面玩游戲，甚至打瞌睡。我有一個(gè)專屬的小盒子，每天我的排泄物都會(huì)神奇地消失掉，無論我把它們埋得有多深。

主人和她家人的聲音也很奇怪。我只能聽懂他們說的一些詞語。“毛毛”（這是我），“不行”，“貓”，“到這兒來”，還有一些對(duì)我們之間的交流至關(guān)重要的詞語。

每天早上，我都會(huì)照例幫忙叫醒主人。就算她床頭幾上那個(gè)恐怖的盒子開始尖叫，她也從不會(huì)馬上起床，所以為了讓她把那個(gè)該死的東西關(guān)掉，我會(huì)溜進(jìn)她的臥室，用鼻子輕輕撫弄她的臉。有時(shí)候，這個(gè)舉動(dòng)會(huì)惹毛她，但她多半會(huì)把我抱入懷中，輕揉我的耳朵。

主人的丈夫也很愛我。他很樂于幫我捕捉那個(gè)神出鬼沒的紅點(diǎn)，當(dāng)這個(gè)討厭的紅點(diǎn)在出現(xiàn)在地毯上、墻上、乃至于我的爪子上的時(shí)候，他甚至還會(huì)和我一起匍匐在地上。

這個(gè)家里的第三個(gè)人是卡拉，卡拉是我除了自己的名字外唯一知道的名字。卡拉是主人和他丈夫唯一的“幼崽”。雖然我很敬愛我的主人，但是卡拉才是我的最愛。

我肯定卡拉非常了解我。我會(huì)驗(yàn)證自己的想法。……