Chapter 2 cat begging for rain

In the evening, when Mom and Dad came back from the ground, they saw the cat washing up on the well platform. "Well," said they, "look, the cat has scratched his ear, and it's going to rain again to-morrow." Sure enough, it rained all day the next day, so I didn't plan to go to the ground.Mom and Dad couldn't go out, they were upset, and they didn't have much patience with their two daughters.Delfina was the older sister, and Marinette had the most beautiful blond hair, and the little sisters played pigeons, bone crutches, hanged ghosts, rag dolls, and "Is the wolf there" in the kitchen.

"Just know how to play," muttered Mom and Dad, "just know how to laugh and laugh, for such a big girl. Look, they still have to play when they are ten years old. Don't say anything about sewing, write a letter to Uncle Alfred .isn't that more useful?" After they scolded their daughter, they blamed the cat sitting on the window sill watching the rain. "It's the same with this guy. He doesn't do anything serious all day long. Rats are rare? He runs from cellar to attic. But this gentleman likes to eat for free and doesn't do any work. It's not tiring."

"You don't like anything," answered the Cat. "The day is for sleeping and playing. At night, I was running about in the garret, and you didn't follow me and praise me." "Well, you're always right, hum!" Towards evening, it was still raining.While parents were feeding the animals, the little sisters played around the dining table again. "You shouldn't be playing like this," said the Cat. "You're probably going to break some house again. Mom and Dad should be yelling again." "If I listen to you, then there is nothing to play," Telfina replied.

"Really," echoed Marinette, "with Alphonse (that's what they call the cat) there is nothing but sleep." Alphonse did not argue with them, and the little sisters started running again.There is a porcelain plate in the center of the table. The family has had it for more than a hundred years, and my parents regard it as a treasure.Telfina and Marinette ran, grabbed the table legs again, and lifted them up without even thinking.The porcelain plate slowly slid down and fell to the tile floor, breaking into several pieces.The cat has been sitting on the window sill without looking back.The little sisters didn't have the mood to run away anymore, they just felt feverish in their ears.

"Alphonse, this porcelain plate is broken, what should I do?" "Take away the pieces and throw them in the pit. Maybe Mom and Dad won't find anything. Well, never mind, it's too late, they're back." When Mom and Dad saw the plate was broken, they immediately became furious and ran around the kitchen like fleas. "Little friends!" they yelled, "the dishes that have been used in the house for more than a hundred years! Let you break them! You two little devils, you will never make anything else. You are punished: don't play!" , can only eat dry bread!"

Mom and Dad thought the punishment was too light, thought for a while, looked at the little sisters with a grim smile, and said: "No, no dry bread. Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain... Tomorrow... Ha! Ha! Ha! Tomorrow, you have to go and see Aunt Melina!" Telfina and Marinette turned pale, clasped their hands together, and begged with their eyes at the same time. "It's no use begging! If it doesn't rain, you go to Aunt Melina's house and send her a jar of jam." Aunt Melina was a very fierce old woman with a toothless mouth and a beard growing all over her chin.When the little sisters went to visit her in the village, she always kissed them, and her beard was annoying enough, and she kept pinching them and pulling their hair.She liked to force them to eat moldy bread and cheese: that was left for them to eat, where the hair grew.Besides, Aunt Melina felt that her two nieces resembled her very much, and it was horrible to think that they would look exactly like her before the end of the year.

"Poor boy," sighed the Cat, "that's a heavy punishment for breaking a chipped plate." "Why are you interfering? Since you speak for them, maybe you have a role in serving the dishes?" "Oh! no," said the little sisters, "Alphonse did not leave the window." "Shut up! Humph! You're all the same. You protect each other, and neither one will make up for the other. A cat that sleeps all day..." "Since you have such accents," said the Cat, "I'd better go away. Marinette, open the window for me." Marinette opened the window and the cat jumped into the yard.At this time, the rain happened to stop, and the breeze gradually dispersed the dark clouds.

"It's starting to clear up," Mom and Dad said happily. "It's sure to be a sunny day tomorrow, and you're going to Aunt Melina's right away. You're lucky. Well, enough crying! You can't fix the dishes. Hey, It's better to go to the barn and chop firewood." The little sisters went into the barn and saw the cat squatting on the woodpile.Through tears, Telfina stared at the cat as it washed its face. "Alphonse," she called together, with a pleasant smile on her face, wondering how strange it was to call her sister. "What are you doing, little girl?"

"I thought of something. Tomorrow, if you like, we won't go to Aunt Melina's." "That would be all the better, but, unfortunately, nothing I can say to your parents will make any difference." "It's just that you don't need to tell your parents. You know what they say, don't you? If it doesn't rain, let's go to my aunt's." "how is it?" "That's great! You just stick your paws behind your ears and it's going to rain tomorrow and we won't be going to Aunt Melina's." "Well, really," said the Cat, "I never thought of that. Honestly, it's a good idea."

Immediately the cat stretched its paws behind the ears and scratched it more than fifty times. "Tonight, you can sleep in peace. It will rain heavily tomorrow, and even the dogs won't be able to go out." At dinner, Mom and Dad talked about Aunt Melina.They had already prepared a jar of jam for her. The two little sisters took a lot of effort to keep their faces sullen. When Marinette met her sister's gaze, she was about to laugh several times, and quickly pretended to be choking on food.When it was time to go to bed, Mom and Dad poked their heads out the window. "It's a fine day," they said, "it's a fine day to be in the sky to-night. There are so many stars in the sky, I'm afraid I've never seen them before. To-morrow is just time to go out."

Unexpectedly, the next day, the curtains were gray and it started to rain early. "It's all right," said Mom and Dad, "it won't rain long." They dressed their daughters in festive dresses and tied pink ribbons in each of their hair.However, it rained all morning and continued until dark.The little sisters had to take off their festive dresses and pink ribbons.However, Mom and Dad are still in a good mood. "It's just pushing back. You're going to visit Aunt Melina tomorrow. It's starting to clear up. It's May, and it would be weird if it rained for three days in a row." That night, when the cat was washing his face, he scratched the roots of his ears with his paws, and the next day was another rainy day.Like yesterday, the daughter could not be sent to Aunt Melina's.Mom and Dad's mood started to turn sour.Because of the bad weather, seeing the punishment being delayed again and again, I feel very unhappy; I am even more unhappy when I can't work in the fields.They get mad at their daughters at every turn, yelling that they will only break plates. "It will do you good to go and see Aunt Melina," they went on, "and you will go there early in the morning when the weather clears." In the midst of their dismay, they came across the cat again, and one beat it with a broom, and the other One kicked it and called the cat a trash and a slob. "Oh! Oh!" said the Cat, "I didn't expect you to be so vicious. You hit me for no reason, but, I swear by the Cat, you will regret it." If papa and mama don't start the incident, it won't be long before the cat gets tired of letting it rain any more, because he loves to climb trees and run in fields and trees; to relieve his friends from visiting Merry Aunt Na, it's too much to keep him from going out by himself.However, he still remembers the kicking and beating with the broom, and he scratched the roots of his ears with his paws without the little sisters begging.Since then, he has made it his own business.For eight consecutive days, from morning to night, it rained non-stop.Mom and Dad stayed at home helplessly, watching the crops rot, and couldn't care less about being idle anymore.They had already forgotten about the porcelain plate and visiting Aunt Melina, but they began to dislike cats, and they whispered at every turn, discussing for a long time, and no one could figure out the secret. On the eighth day of rain, Mom and Dad, regardless of the bad weather, were going to the station early in the morning to transport several bags of potatoes to the city.Delfina and Marinette got up and saw their parents sewing a sack in the kitchen.There was also a stone on the table, which weighed at least three catties.When the little sisters asked what it was for, the parents looked a little embarrassed, and replied that it was something to be checked with the potatoes.At this time, the cat walked into the kitchen and greeted everyone politely. "Alphonse," said the parents of the children, "here is a large bowl of fresh milk, which is standing by the stove." "Thank you, master, it's very kind of you," said the cat.It was a little surprising that he hadn't received such preferential treatment for a long time. While he was drinking fresh milk, his father and mother each grabbed his two legs, stuffed his head forward into his pocket, put a three-jin stone in it, and sewed the mouth of the bag shut with a thick rope. "What are you doing? You've lost your mind!" the cat yelled as it struggled in the pocket. "What are you doing?" said the parents of the children. "We don't want a cat that scratches its ears every night. It's raining hard enough. Since you love water so much, little one, let's drink as much as you want. Five minutes later." , you sink to the bottom of the river and wash your face." Telfina and Marinette yell to prevent Alphonse from being thrown into the river.Mom and Dad yelled too, and nothing could stop them from drowning a damned beast begging for rain.Alphonse meowed and struggled in his pocket like crazy.Marinette hugged him through the sackcloth, and Telfina knelt down and begged for the cat's mercy. "No, no!" Mom and Dad yelled like monsters, "I can't pity the bad cat!" They suddenly realized that it was almost eight o'clock, and they would miss the train.The two hurriedly put on their raincoats and hats, and said to their daughter before leaving the kitchen: "There's no time to go to the river now. We'll talk about it when we come back at noon. But don't try to open your pockets just now. If Alphonse isn't in it by noon, you'll have to go at once to Aunt Melina's and stay there." In the first half of the year, maybe for a lifetime." As soon as their parents were on their way, Delfina and Marinette undid the pocket strings.The cat poked its head out of the bag and said to them: "Little girl, I always thought that you have a heart of gold. If I agree to save myself and see you go to Aunt Melina's house for half a year, maybe longer, then I will become a shameless cat. If I live at this price , then I would rather be thrown into the river a hundred times.” "Aunt Melina is not as fierce as others say, and half a year will pass soon." However, the cat said nothing.To show that he had made up his mind, he put his head back into his pocket again.Delfina tried to persuade him, and Marinette went to the yard to ask the ducks for advice.The duck is playing in a puddle in the rain. He is cautious and serious in his work.To think better, he buried his head in his wings. "I've racked my brains and can't think of anything," said the Duck at last, "to get Alphonse out of the pocket. I know him, and he's very stubborn. Just pull him out, and wait till papa and mama come back. Nothing will stop him from seeing them. Besides, I think he's doing exactly the right thing. For me, I'd have a bad conscience if, through my fault, you had to be at the mercy of Aunt Melina. " "What about us? If Alphonse is thrown into the river and drowned, will we not be condemned?" "Of course, of course," said the duck, "you must find a way to get the best of both worlds. But I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I really can't think of any way." Marinette planned to discuss with the animals on the farm, and she decided to let everyone enter the kitchen so as not to delay the time.Horses, dogs, bulls, cows, pigs, poultry, all came, and sat down in a circle on the seats designated by the little girl; the cat was in the middle, and he agreed to put his head out of his pocket.Next to him, Duck spoke first to introduce the situation to everyone.After he finished speaking, everyone began to think quietly. "Anyone have an idea?" asked the duck. "I," replied the pig. "Well: at noon, when the master comes back, I will talk to them. I will shame them for having such a bad idea. I will explain to them that animal life is sacred, and that if they take Alphonse He committed a great crime by throwing him into the river. They will understand me." Duck nodded sympathetically, but not convinced yet.In the master's mind, pigs are goods that go into the bacon tank, and the reasoning he said may not have much weight. "Anyone else have an idea?" "Me," said the dog. "You just let me do it. When the master comes back to get the bag, I bite their calf until they let the cat go." It seems like a good idea.But although Telfina and Marinette were a little tempted, they didn't want the dog to bite their parents' calves. "Besides," pointed out a cow, "dogs are so obedient to their masters that they dare not bite at all." "Really, I'm too obedient," the dog sighed. "There is an easier way," said a white bull. "Alphonse can just come out, and put in a piece of wood." The bull's words were generally appreciated, but the cat shook his head. "No, the master will find that the pocket is not moving, speaking, or panting, and they will see it right away." It must be admitted that Alphonse had a point.The animals were a little discouraged and fell silent.At this moment, the horse began to speak. It was an old horse, its legs were trembling, and only a skeleton was left; the owner no longer needed him to work, and was going to sell him to the slaughterhouse. "I won't live long," said the horse. "I'm dead anyway, and I might as well do something useful. Alphonse is still young, and the cat has a bright future. Naturally, I should take his place and get into the pocket." " Everyone was very moved after listening to Ma's suggestion.Especially Alphonse, who came out of his pocket, arched his back, and rubbed himself against the horse's legs. "You are the best friend and the most generous animal," said the cat to the old horse. "If I am lucky enough not to be drowned today, I will never forget the sacrifice you were willing to make for me, and I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart." Delfina and Marinette had sore noses and were sobbing.Pigs also have a beautiful heart, and he cries loudly.The cat wiped its eyes with its paw, and continued: "Unfortunately, your proposal cannot be realized, and I am sorry. Because, I was ready to accept your proposal from such a sincere friendship, but my pocket can barely fit me, so you can't replace me. I'm afraid you have your whole head Can't get in." Immediately the little sisters and all the animals understood that there was no replacement.When the old horse stood beside Alphonse, he became a colossus.A rooster who doesn't know how to behave thinks the comparison is funny, so he giggles. "Quiet!" said the Duck to him. "We are not in the mood to laugh, and I thought you understood that, but you are a ignorant urchin. Get us out, please." "Well," retorted the Cock, "mind your own business! Shall I ask you the time?" "My God, he's so rude," grunted the pig. "Get out!" cried the animals with one voice. "Cock, get out! Rough fellow, get out! Get out!" The rooster was so angry that his crown was red, and he ran out of the kitchen amidst the scolding, and he swore revenge.It was raining outside, so he hid in the warehouse.After a while, Marinette also came in, and she carefully selected a piece of wood from the woodpile. "Maybe I can help you find what you want," suggested the Rooster kindly. "Oh! No need. I want to make a piece of wood. The shape... must have a certain shape." "Have to be in the shape of a cat, don't you. But, as the cat says, your parents will find that the wood doesn't move." "It just so happens that you won't find out," replied Marinette, "the duck already has an idea..." In the kitchen just now, Marinette heard that she had to beware of cocks. She was afraid that she had talked too much, so she immediately shut up and left the barn with the piece of firewood she just picked.Rooster watched her run into the kitchen against the rain.After a while, Telfina came out with the cat and opened the barn door to let the cat in. She was waiting for the cat at the door.The rooster opened his eyes round, but he couldn't figure out what it was doing.Telfina walked to the kitchen window from time to time, asking the time in an uneasy voice. "Twenty-twelve to twelve," replied Marinette for the first time. "Ten to twelve...five minutes to twelve..." The cat didn't show up again. All the animals except the ducks left the kitchen to seek shelter from the rain. "What time is it?" "Twelve o'clock, it's all over. It seems...you heard it? The sound of a carriage. Mom and Dad are back." "That's fine," Delfina said. "I'll lock Alphonse in the barn. I'll stay at Aunt Melina's house for half a year, and I won't die anyway." She stretched out her arms and was about to close the door when Alphonse appeared at the door with a live mouse in his mouth.Mom and Dad's carriage drove fast and had reached the intersection. The cat and Telfina rushed into the kitchen one after the other.Marinette had wrapped the wood in a rag to make it softer, and put it in her pocket again.Now, she opened the mouth of the bag, waited for the cat to put the mouse in its mouth, and immediately closed the bag.The parents' carriage drove up to the edge of the garden. "Rat," said the Duck, leaning into the pocket, "the Cat kindly spares your life, but on one condition. Do you hear me?" "Oh, I hear you," a small voice answered. "Just one thing you're asked to do, and that's to run around on the wood in your pocket so that it looks like it's moving." "It's easy. What else?" "Also, after a while, someone will take the bag and still enter the water." "Oh, but..." "Stop talking. There's a little hole in the bottom of the pocket. Make it bigger if you have to; and run away when you hear a dog barking next to you. But you can't run until the dog barks, or he'll kill you." You. Got it? Remember, no matter what happens, you can't shout or say a word. " Mom and Dad's carriage drove into the yard.Marinette hid Alphonse in the wooden box and put the bag on the lid.While the parents were unloading the car, the duck left the kitchen, and the little sisters rubbed their eyes red on purpose. "What a hell of a day," said Mom and Dad, as they came in. "The rain soaked the cloak. Come to think of it, it's all the cat's fault!" "If I hadn't been locked up in my sack," said the Cat, "I might have been kind enough to pity you." The cat was curled up in the wooden box, just under the pocket, and the voice of the cat's voice was weakened, as if it came from the pocket.The mouse was in the pocket, running back and forth over the wood, buckling the pocket cloth. "We are the masters, so there is no need to be pitiful. You are pitiful enough to fall into such a bad situation. However, this is your own fault." "Forget it, master, forget it. You are not so vicious in your pure appearance. Let me out of your pocket, and I promise to forgive you." "Forgive us! This is too much. This week, maybe we are praying for rain every day?" "Well! That's not true, you are not capable of it," said the Cat, "but you beat me that day for no reason. Devil! Executioner! Heartless!" "Hmph! Damn the cat! It's scolding us!" cried the master. They were so angry that they picked up the brooms and hit the pockets, hitting all the firewood in the cloth bag.The mouse was terrified and hopped about in its pocket, and Alphonse feigned howling in pain. "Have you learned the lesson this time? Are you still saying that we have no heart?" "I'm not talking to you any more," Alphonse shot back. "You fierce people, whatever you say, I will never open my mouth again." "Whatever you want, little one. Besides, maybe it's time to get over this. Now, go to the river." Mom and Dad grabbed their pockets, ignored the cries of the little sisters, and left the kitchen.The dog, who had been waiting in the yard, followed them now, embarrassing them a little by his astonishment.As they passed in front of the barn, they were stopped by the rooster: "Well, master, are you going to drown poor Alphonse? But tell me, is he dead? He is as motionless as a piece of wood." "It's very possible. He's been beaten by a broom, and I'm afraid he won't be able to breathe much." The child's parents said, and glanced at the pockets hidden in the cloak. "But, he can still move, right?" "Yes," said the rooster, "but why didn't I hear him? It seems that there is not a cat in his pocket, but a piece of firewood." "Indeed, he told us just now that he would never speak again, or even answer our questions." This time, the rooster didn't dare to doubt that the cat was not in the bag any more, so he wished him a good journey. At this moment, Alphonse had come out of the box and was dancing with the little girls in the kitchen.Seeing them having fun, Duck didn't want to spoil their fun, but he was worried, thinking that the children's parents might find out that the bags had been dropped. "Now, be careful," said the duck, when they were done, "that they should not find the cat in the kitchen as soon as they come back. Alphonse must hide in the attic. Remember, never come down in the daytime. " "Every night," Delfina said, "you'll find something to eat and a bowl of milk in the barn." "During the day," promised Marinette, "we will go up to the attic to say hello to you." "I'll also go to your room to see you. At night, when you're going to bed, just leave the windows open." The little sisters and the duck walked the cat to the barn door.They arrived at the same time as the mouse: the mouse escaped from the pocket and returned to the barn. "How is it?" Duck asked. "I'm all wet," said the mouse, "and I can't get out of the rain. Think about it, I was almost drowned. The dog didn't bark until the last second, and your parents have arrived." By the river. They almost threw me in the water with my bag." "It's all going well at last," said the duck, "don't dawdle, and go back to the barn." Mom and Dad came back and saw their two daughters sitting at the table singing, very disgusted. "Really, poor Alphonse is dead, and you don't seem to be very sad. You needn't have screamed so much when he's gone. In truth, he ought to have made more loyal friends. In fact, , he was a good brute and we will miss him dearly." "We're sorry," said Marinette firmly, "but since he's dead, really, he's dead, and there's nothing anyone can do about it." "At the end of the day, he did it to himself," Delfina added. "This kind of statement sounds harsh to us," Mom and Dad scolded. "You heartless children. We'd like, huh! Yes, to send you over to Aunt Melina's." At this point, the whole family sat down and began to eat; however, the parents were so sad that they could hardly eat, so they said to the daughter who was eating so much: "Sorrow is sorrow, and you eat as usual. If poor Alphonse could see us, he would know who his real friends are." After eating, Mom and Dad couldn't stop crying, holding their handkerchiefs and crying loudly. "Look at you, father and mother," said the daughter, "look at you, take courage. Don't be sentimental. Crying won't bring Alphonse back to life. Of course, you stuffed him in your pocket and beat him with sticks." , and still in the river, but remember, it's for the good of all of us, for the sun to shine on our crops. You have to be reasonable. When you went to the river, you were full of courage and joy!" That afternoon and evening Papa and Mama were very sad, but in the morning the sky was clear and the fields were full of sunshine and they didn't think much of the cat.In the next few days, they didn't even think about it.The weather is getting hotter and the fields are busy, and they have no time to regret. As for the little sisters, they had no need to think of Alphonse.He was almost inseparable from them.While the children's parents were not at home, he waited in the yard from morning till night, only hiding during meals. In the evening, he went to their room to meet them. One evening, when the parents of the children came home, the rooster came up to them and said to them: "I don't know if it's a fancy, but I think I saw Alphonse in the yard." "That rooster is an idiot," they muttered, and walked on. Unexpectedly, the next day, the rooster came up to them again and said: "If Alphonse is not at the bottom of the river, I can swear that I saw him in the yard this afternoon, playing with the little sisters." "He's getting more and more demented, and he's always talking about poor Alphonse." The parents of the children said, looking intently at the rooster.They began to count together in whispers, still staring at him intently. "This rooster is stupid," they said, "but he looks so good. I see him every day, but I don't realize it. In fact, he's grown up, and he won't gain any more meat if he feeds him." The next morning, when the rooster was about to speak about Alphonse, it was slaughtered, and a stew was made, to the great satisfaction of all. For a fortnight after Alphonse's death the weather remained fine without a single drop of rain.The child's parents said they were lucky, but added with some trepidation: "This kind of weather can't last for too long, or it will be dry. The next rain will be fine." For twenty-three days, it did not rain.The land is too dry and the crops are not growing.Wheat, oats, and rye are gone and starting to turn yellow. "One more week of this weather," said mother and father, "and the crops will be scorched." They grieved, sighed aloud for the death of Alphonse, and blamed the two daughters. "If you don't break the porcelain plate, there will be no trouble with the cat, and he will beg us for rain here." After dinner in the evening, they sat in the yard and watched the clouds disappear. In the night sky, wringing his hands in pain, he called Alphonse's name. One morning, Mom and Dad came to the room to wake up the little sister.Before that, the cat chatted with the two of them for half the night, and then stayed on Marinette's bed to sleep.He heard the door open and hurriedly got under the covers. "It's time," Mom and Dad said, "wake up. The sun is warm and the sun is out, and it's not raining today... Oh! If this goes on..." They stopped suddenly, craned their necks, and stared wide-eyed at Marinette's bed.Alphonse thought it was hidden, but he didn't expect the tail to be exposed.Telfina and Marinette hadn't woken up yet, they huddled under the quilt with only their hair exposed.The parents approached on tiptoe, grabbed the cat's tail with four hands, and lifted him up abruptly. "Hey! Isn't this Alphonse!" "Yes, it's me. Put me down first, it hurts me. Let me down and explain to you." The parents put the cat on the table.Telfina and Marinette had to admit what they did the day they were about to drown the cat. "It's also for your own good," Delfina emphasized, "so that you don't kill a cat that has no fault." "But you didn't listen to us," complained Mom and Dad. "What you say counts. Go to Aunt Melina." "Hmph! Do it?" cried the Cat, jumping on the window-sill. "Well, I'm going to Aunt Melina's too! And I'm going to be the first to go." The parents of the children realized that they had spoken a foolish thing, and begged Alphonse to stay on the farm, for the harvest depended on it.However, the cat can't listen to what I say.After they begged for a long time, and promised not to let their daughter leave the farm, the cat agreed to stay. That evening, the weather was extremely hot; Telfina, Marinette, Mom and Dad, and all the animals on the farm formed a big circle in the yard.Alphonse sat on a stool in the middle of the circle.Unhurriedly, he began to wash his face, and then scratched the roots of his ears with his paws more than fifty times.The next morning, after twenty-five days of drought, at last a heavy rain fell, refreshing men and animals alike.In the gardens, fields and meadows, the plants and crops are starting to turn green.A week later, another great event happened.Aunt Melina had an idea, shaved off her beard, got married easily, and followed her new husband to settle in a place thousands of miles away from the little sisters. Translated by Li Yumin