By Jim Willis
The Man was very sad。He knew that the Cat's days were numbered。The doctor had said there wasn't anything more that could be done，that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible。
The man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed。The Cat opened his eyes，purred and looked up at the Man。A tear rolled down the Man's cheek and landed on the Cat's forehead。The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look。
“Why do you cry，Man？”the Cat asked，“Because you can't bear the thought of losing me？Because you think you can never replace me？”
The Man nodded“yes。”
“And where do you think I'll be when I leave you？”the Cat asked。
The Man shrugged helplessly。
“Close your eyes，Man。”the Cat said。The Man gave him a questioning look，but did as he was told。
“What color are my eyes and fur？”the Cat asked。
“Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich，warm brown。”the Man replied。
“And where is my fur the darkest？”the Cat asked。
“It is darkest along your back，your tail，your legs，nose and ears。”the Man said。
“And where is it that you most often see me？”asked the Cat。
“I see you……on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds……on my favorite chair……on my desk lying on the papers I need……on the pillow next to my head at night。”
The cat nodded。
“Can you see me in all of those places now，even though your eyes are shut？”the Cat asked。
“Yes，of course。I've seen you there for years。”the Man said。
“Then，whenever you wish to see me，all you must do is close your eyes。”said the Cat。
“But you won't really be here。”the Man said sadly。
“Oh，really？”said the Cat，“Pick up that piece of string from the floor there，my‘toy’”。
The Man opened his eyes，then reached over and picked up the string。It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it。
“What is it made of？”the Cat asked。
“It appears to be made of cotton。”the Man said。
“Which comes from a plant？”the Cat asked。
“Yes。”said the Man。
“From just one plant，or from many？”
“From many cotton plants。”the Man answered。
“And in the same soil from which grow the cotton plants，it would be possible that other plants and flowers would grow？A rose could grow alongside of the cotton，yes？”asked the Cat。
“Yes，I'm sure it would be possible。”the Man said。
“And all of the plants would feed from the same soil and drink the same rain，would they not？”the Cat asked。
“Yes，they would。”said the Man。
“Then all of the plants，rose and cotton，would be very similar on the inside，even if they appeared outwardly very different。”said the Cat。
The Man nodded his head in agreement，but didn't see what that had to do with the present situation。
“Now，that piece of string。”said the Cat，“is that the only piece of string ever made of cotton？”
“No，of course it isn't。”said the Man，“it was part of a ball of twine。”
“And do you know where all of the other pieces of string are now，and all of the balls of twine？”asked the Cat。
“……you would agree that all the string is related？”
“No，I don't……that would be impossible。”said the Man。
“But even though you do not know where they are，you believe they exist。And even though some of the string is with you，and other pieces of string are elsewhere……even though some pieces of string are short and others are long，and even though your ball of twine is not the only one in the world……you would agree that all the string is related？”the Cat asked。
“I've never thought about it，but yes，I guess they would be related。”the Man said。
“What would happen if a piece of cotton string fell onto the ground？”the Cat asked。
“Well……it would eventually be covered up and decompose into the soil。”the Man said。
“I see。”said the Cat，“then perhaps more cotton would grow above it，or a rose。”
“Yes，it would be possible。”the Man agreed。
“Then the rose growing on your windowsill might be related to the string you are holding as well as to all the pieces of string you do not know about。”said the Cat。
The Man knit his brow in thought。
“Now take each end of the string in one hand。”the Cat ordered。
The Man did so。
“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death。Now bring the two ends together。”the Cat said。The Man complied。
“You have made a continuous circle。”said the cat，“Does any point along the string appear to be different，worse or better than any other part of the string？”
The Man inspected the string and then shook his head“no。”
“Does the space inside the circle appear to be different from the space outside of the circle？”the Cat asked。
Again the Man shook his head“no”，but he still wasn't sure he understood the Cat's meaning。
“Close your eyes again。”the Cat said，“Now lick your hand。”
The Man widened his eyes in surprise。
“Just do it。”the Cat said，“lick your hand，think of me in all my familiar places，think about all the pieces of string，think about the cotton and the rose，think about how the inside of the circle is not different from the outside of the circle。”
The Man felt foolish，licking his hand，but he did as he was told。He discovered what a cat must know，that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly。He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days。He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop，and when he didn't he opened his eyes。The Cat's eyes were closed。The Man stroked the warm，brown fur，but the Cat was gone。
The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face。He saw the Cat on the windowsill，then in his bed，then lying across his important papers。He saw him on the pillow next to his head，saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears。He opened his eyes and through his tears looked over at the rose growing in a pot on the windowsill and then to the circle of string he still held clutched in his hand。
One day，not long after，there was a new Cat on his lap。She was a lovely calico and white……very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same。
男人很伤心，他知道猫剩下的日子不多了。医生说已经没得治了，说他应该把猫带回家，并尽可能地让他在临终这段时间里过得舒服些。
男人把猫放在腿上，轻轻地抚摸着，叹了口气。猫睁开眼睛，呼噜呼噜地叫着，然后抬眼看着他。一颗泪珠沿着男人的脸颊滑落，落在了猫的额头上。猫有点不高兴地看了他一眼。
“哭什么呢，伙计？”猫问道，“是因为你无法承受将要失去我的念头吗？还是因为你觉得永远都没有什么能代替我吗？”男人点了点头，说：“是啊。”
“那么你觉得我离开你以后，会到什么地方去呢？”猫问道。男人绝望地耸了耸肩。“闭上眼睛，伙计，”猫说。男人疑惑地看了猫一眼，但还是听话地闭上了眼睛。
“你说说，我的眼睛什么颜色？毛皮什么颜色？”猫问。“你的眼睛是金色的，你身上的毛是棕色的，是那种浓郁而又让人感到温暖的棕色。”男人回答道。
“那我什么部位的毛颜色最深？”猫接着又问。男人说：“你整个背部、尾巴、腿上、鼻子还有耳朵这些地方的毛颜色最深。”
“那你最经常在什么地方见到我呢？”猫问。“我经常……看见你在厨房窗台上看鸟……看见你蹲在我最喜欢的椅子上……看见你躺在桌子上，躺在我需要用的文件上……看见你晚上睡在我脑袋边的枕头上。”
猫点点头。他又问：“现在，即使你的眼睛是闭着的，你还能看见我吗？看见我在刚才你所说的那些地方吗？”“可以呀，当然可以。我看你看了这么多年了。”男人回答。
“那么，无论什么时候你想见我，只要闭上你的眼睛就可以了。”猫说。“可你不会真的在我身边了。”男人悲伤地说。
“哦，是吗？把地上那段绳子捡起来——那里，我的‘玩具’。”
男人睁开眼睛，伸出手把绳子捡了起来。绳子大约有两英尺长，猫曾经快乐地玩绳子，一玩就是几个小时。
猫问男人：“绳子是由什么做成的？”“好像是棉制的。”这是男人的回答。“棉是从植物里提取出来的吗？”猫接着说。“是啊。”男人道。“棉是从一种植物里提取出来的，还是从多种植物里提取出来的？”又一个问题来了。
“是从很多棉株里提取出来的。”男人答道。
“那么在长出棉株的地里，有没有可能也会长出来别的植物，别的花呢？玫瑰花会和棉花一起生长，对吧？”猫紧接着问。“正确。我确信这是可能的。”男人说。
“这么说来，所有的植物都从同一块土地吸收养分，都从同一次下的雨水里得到浇灌，会吗？”猫问男人。“对，是这样。”男人回答。“那所有这些植物、玫瑰还有棉株都会是内里很相似的，即使它们从外表看起来都各不相同。”猫说。男人点点头，同意猫的说法，可是他实在不明白猫说的这些和现在他们面临的情况有什么联系。
“好吧，那根绳子，那是由棉花制成的唯一的一根绳子吗？”猫又问。“当然不是了，”男人说，“那只是很多很多棉绳当中的一部分。”“那么你知道别的一段一段的绳子哪去了？还有所有的棉绳都哪去了？”猫又提问题了，“……我说所有这些一段一段的绳子是互相连系的，你会同意吗？”男人答道：“不同意，我觉得那是不可能的。”
“然而，即便你不清楚那些绳子的归宿，还是相信他们是存在的。还有，即便你只拥有部分绳子，不知道别的绳子在别的什么地方；即便拥有的绳子很短，而别的绳子很长；即便你所拥有的那些棉绳不是世界上独有的……你会同意我的说法吗？所有的绳子是互相关联的？”猫一下子有这么多问题。
“你说的我从来没有想过，但我想是的，所有的绳子是连在一起的。”男人回答。
“如果一段棉绳掉到地上，会发生什么事？”猫问男人。
“呃……绳子会被踩踏、覆盖、分解，最终会融进大地。”男人回答。
“明白了，”猫说道，“也许会有更多棉株从地里长出来，抑或是玫瑰花。”
“哦，有可能。”男人表示赞成。
“那么出现在你窗户上的玫瑰花也许就和你手中正握着的绳子有关系，也和那些你没见过、不知道的所在的绳子有关系。”猫这样说。
男人皱起眉头，陷入了沉思。
“现在用两只手捏住绳子的两端。”猫命令道。男人照做了。
“你左手捏着的那端代表我的出生，而右手捏着的那端代表我的死亡。现在把两端连在一起。”猫说道。男人又照做了。
“这已经成了一个连贯的圆圈，”猫说，“这个绳子上的任意一点同其他点有什么不同吗？这一部分比绳子的其他部分更好或者更差吗？”男人仔细地看看那根绳子，然后摇了摇头。“没有。”猫紧跟着又问：“圆环内部的空间看起来和圆环外部的空间有不一样的地方吗？”男人再次摇摇头：“没什么不同。”可是他还是觉得不太懂猫在说什么。
“再次闭上你的眼睛，”猫说，“好，舔舔你的手。”男人惊讶地睁大了眼睛。
“照我说的做吧，”猫说，“舔舔你的手，想想我在所有我熟悉的地方的样子，想想所有的绳子，想想棉株，想想玫瑰花，再想想圆环内部怎么就和圆环外部看起来一样。”
要自己舔自己的手，让男人觉得很荒唐，不过他还是照做了。这一下，他发现了猫所知道的秘密——舔爪子能让你平静下来，并让你能够更加清晰地思考问题。他继续舔着，嘴角开始上翘，好多天来他第一次露出了微笑。他等待着猫让他停下来，可是很长时间过去，并没有听见猫说让他停下，于是他睁开了眼睛。然而猫的眼睛已经闭上了。他轻轻地抚摩着猫棕色的余温尚存的毛，可是猫离他而去了。
男人用力地闭上了眼睛，泪如泉涌。他看见猫一会儿蹲在窗台上，一会儿跳到他的床上，一会儿又躺在他的重要文件上。他看见猫躺在他脑袋边的枕头上，看见他明亮的金黄色的眼睛，还有鼻子、耳朵上深褐色的毛发。他睁开眼睛，透过泪眼，他望着窗台上的花盆里的那株玫瑰花，又移开目光，望着他依然捏在手里的绳圈。
不久后的一天，他的膝上有了一只新的猫咪。她是一只可爱的白色花斑猫——与之前那只他深爱的猫是那么的不同，然而又是那么的相同。
鹦鹉学舌
英语文化里的猫
英语国家的人很喜欢猫。英语里面有A cat has nine lives（猫有九命）这种说法，因为英语国家的人相信，猫这种动物命大、福大、造化大。猫和人们的生活关系密切。一方面，猫是老鼠的天敌。没有猫，老鼠就会肆意妄为。在中世纪的欧洲，基督教徒曾认定猫是魔鬼附身的动物，数以万计的猫因此被处死。不料，猫的厄运招致老鼠的猖獗。很快，鼠害成灾，黑死病一波接一波的横扫欧洲大陆。这段惨痛的历史教训充分证明“猫儿不在，鼠儿成精”——When the cat's away，the mice will play。另一方面，人们又对Cat and dog life。（争吵不休的生活）无可奈何。做错了事情，用“The cat did it”（这是猫干的）来推卸责任。可能是因为猫咪喜欢到处乱跑吧，难免会造成一点小乱子啦！
牛角挂书
New Words
stroke vt。轻抚，抚摸The girl stroked the cat。这个姑娘抚摸着小猫。
He stroked his chin reflectively。他若有所思地摸着下巴。
clutch v。1）紧抓；紧握She clutched the child's hand as they cross the street。他们过马路时，她紧抓住孩子的手。
2）急忙地抓；突然抢走The boy clutched the marbles and ran away。男孩把弹子一把抢去便逃走了。
decompose v。分解；（使）腐烂decompose a compound into its elements将化合物分解成元素
The egg began to decompose after a day in the sun。太阳晒了一天后，蛋开始腐败。
T
猴老师有话说
est Yourself
关于cover的小测验：
1.cover up有两个意思，能举例说明吗？
2.下面是关于cover 的一些短语，你知道它们的含义吗？
1）from cover to cover
2）blow sb's cover
3）take cover
4）under cover
5）under plain cover
6）under separate cover
7）under（the）cover of
Keys：
1.cover up：1）掩盖；掩饰 例：cover up a scandal掩盖丑闻cover up for a friend替朋友掩饰错误缺点
2）（完全）盖住；遮住 例：Cover yourself up well。衣服穿得暖和些。
2.1）从第一页至最后一页read a book from cover to cover 把一本书从头读到尾
2）揭某人老底
3）隐蔽take cover under a tree 躲到树下
4）秘密的（地）；暗地里的（地）
5）在未写明商号及内容等的信封内
6）在另函（另包）内
7）在……掩护下；以……为借口escape under the cover of darkness 在夜幕掩护下逃走under cover of friendship 借友谊之名
