Mr Cat from Cat’s End

Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who lived with his tabby tomcat in a cottage at the edge of the woods. The older the cat got, the weaker he grew. One day, he became so frail that all he did was lie on top of the stove all day long, snoring.

The farmer couldn’t even remember the last time the cat had caught a mouse. One day he thought to himself, “What good is that old cat if all he does is loll about on the stove? I’ll take him out into the woods and leave him to go where he likes and fend for himself.”

And so he did. He picked the cat up, carried him deep into the woods, and left him there.

Once the old cat had gathered his wits, he looked around and saw a sleek red vixen.

“Who are you?” asked the vixen.

“I’m Mr Cat, from Cat’s End,” the cat said.

“Well, you seem pretty nice,” the vixen replied. “If you have nowhere to go, why don’t you come with me? You can be my husband and I’ll be your wife.”

Mr Cat agreed, and the vixen took him home to her den.

A few days later, the vixen was out walking through the woods when she chanced upon her friend the hare.

“Oh, dear Mrs Vixen,” he said, “it’s such a long time since I last paid you a visit! I’ll pop into your den and say hello next time I’m passing that way.”

“It would probably be better if you didn’t…” the vixen tried to dissuade her. “Mr Cat from Cat’s End lives with me now, and if he sees you he’ll rip you to shreds.”

This gave the hare quite a fright and…