Page:I am a Cat (1906).djvu/16

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pression to this day. To begin with, his face, which ought to have been adorned with hair, was as smooth and slippery as a kettle. I have seen many a cat in my day, but never have I come across one so deformed. Not only that, the face protruded too much in the centre; and from the two cavities of this projection, smoke puffed out now and then, making it hard for me to keep from choking. That this smoke came from tobacco which man uses, did not come to my knowledge until quite recently.

I sat comfortably for a few moments on this student's palm; then I began to feel myself in full motion. Whether he was moving or I alone was being whirled, was more than I could tell. At any rate, I felt fearfully giddy and qualmish, and began to prepare for the worst, when “thud!” came a sound, and sparks flew from my eyes. As to what happened next my memory utterly fails me.

When I came to myself the student had already gone, and not a shadow was to be seen of my brothers and sisters who had been with me en masse. But the worst was the disappearance of my mamma. Besides, instead of being in the shade, I now found myself in a flood of light,—so dazzling that I could scarcely keep my eyes open.