Once upon a time, there was a very old man and a very old woman who lived in a clean and comfortable house. Except for the door, flowers are planted all around the house.But they cannot be happy because they are lonely. "If only we had a cat," sighed the very old woman. "Cat?" asked the very old man. "Yes, always gentle, fluffy kitten," said the very old woman. "Honey, I'll find you one," said the very old father-in-law. So he went across the mountains to find the cat.He climbed the mountain facing the sun.He walked through the shady valley.

He walked for a long, long time, and finally came to a hill, which was almost full of cats. Cats here, cats there, big cats and kittens everywhere, hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats. "Oh!" said the very old father-in-law joyfully, "and now I can take home the prettiest one!" So he chose one.It's a white cat. But just as he was about to leave, he saw another black and white tabby cat, which looked just as beautiful as the first one.So he took this one with him. But then he saw a fluffy little gray cat on the other side. It was as beautiful as the other two, so he took it too.

Now he saw a cat in the back of the corner that was too cute to live without, so he took this one too. Immediately afterwards, the very old man found that there was a little black cat, which was very beautiful. "It's too embarrassing to leave this alone," said the very old father-in-law.So bring it on. Now he saw over there a brown and yellow striped cat that looked like a little tiger. "This one must be brought!" exclaimed the old man, and he took it. Every time the old man looked up, he happened to see another cat, which was so beautiful that he didn't want to keep it, so he picked all the cats unconsciously.

So he went home through sunny mountains and shady valleys, and showed the very old woman all the lovely kittens. Hundreds, thousands, millions, hundreds of thousands, countless cats followed him, and it seemed so funny. They came to the pond. "Meow, meow! We're thirsty!" cried hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats. "Oh, there's plenty of water here," said the very old father-in-law. Each cat took a sip and the pond was gone. "Meow, meow! Now we're hungry!" said hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats.

"There is a lot of grass on the hill," said the very old man. Each cat took a bite, and there was not a single leaf left. Presently the very old woman saw them coming. "Honey!" she cried, "what are you doing? I just want a kitten, and what do I see?— "Cats here, cats there, big cats and kittens everywhere, hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats." "We'll never feed all the cats," said the very old woman. "They'll eat us poor." "I never thought of that," said the very old father-in-law. "What then?"

The very old woman thought for a while and said, "Yes! Let the cat decide which one we keep." "That's right," said the very old man.So he called the cat and said, "Which of you is the prettiest?" "I!" "I!" "No, I'm pretty!" "No, I'm the most beautiful!" "I'm beautiful!" "No, I'm beautiful! I'm beautiful! I'm beautiful!" cried hundreds, thousands, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats, because each cat thought he was the most beautiful. So they started fighting.

They bit and scratched and tore each other.Noisy.The very old man and the very old woman rushed into the house as fast as they could.Because they don't like the noise. But after a while, the noise stopped.The very old man and the very old woman look outside to see what is going on.They couldn't even see a cat! "I think they must have eaten each other," said the very old woman, "too bad!" "But look!" said the very old father-in-law.He pointed to a clump of tall grass in which sat a frightened kitten.They go out and pick it up.It's thin and scruffy.

"Poor kitten," said the very old woman. "Baby kitten," said the very old father-in-law, "how come you haven't been eaten with hundreds, thousands, millions, hundreds of thousands, countless cats?" "Oh, I'm just a clown cat," said the kitten. "When you asked who was the most beautiful, I didn't say anything, so no one bothered me." They brought the kitten into the house.The very old woman gave it a warm bath and brushed its fur soft and shiny. Every day they give it lots of milk— ——Soon, it grew fat and beautiful. "After all, it's a very beautiful cat!" said the very old woman.

"He's the prettiest cat in the whole world," said the very old father-in-law. "I ought to know, because I've seen-- Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions, hundreds of millions, countless cats—and none as beautiful as this one. "