Conference misery::feline_v1

2102.0. ""A Cat's Christmas Carol"" by JULIET::THOMPSON_LI (CHILL OUT BAAAABEEEE) Thu Dec 29 1988 19:17

    I thought all the other Cat lovers out there would enjoy this as
    much as I did.....(this was given to me in Xerox form, so I have
    not obtained permission to reproduce it here...)
    
    			THE CAT'S CHRISTMAS CAROL
                                 by Virginia C Holmgren
    
    A bedraggled white cat with fur matted and torn
    Came to Bethlehem stable the night Christ was born.
    The ox was her friend and he nodded his head
    To say that she might use his straw for her bed.
    Two travelers were sleeping now by the far wall
    And their donkey was dozing there in the next stall,
    But the cat passed them by, never changing her pace,
    And curled up to sleep without washing her face.
    
    Then soon after midnight she started and stirred
    Because of astonishing sounds that she heard
    A chorus of angles outside in the sky!
    And here in the stable a baby's birth cry!
    Now the ox and the donkey were wide awake, too,
    And all shared in the joy their hearts told them was true.
    That the babe was God's son and sent down from above
    To bring to all creatures the gift of God's love.
    Then up on the roof the cock crowed with full voice:
    
    "Christ is born! Christ is born! Let the whole world rejoice!"
    And the cat now crept forward to where the child lay
    Wrapped up in white cloth on a cradle of hay.
    And she thought in sad shame of her soiled, tangled coat.
    So she went to a corner where she could not be seen
    And licked, lapped and licked till she looked combed and clean.
    
    Then again she crept forward to sit by the child's side
    And purred lullaby music as his eyes opened wide
    And he smiled as he blessed her and she gave him her vow
    That all cats in all countries would honor him now,
    And no cat and no kitten would ever be seen
    With face, fur or paws that were not shining clean,
    Lest they be caught in shame as she'd been this night
    Unclean and unworthy to appear in his sight.
    
    So when you see cats washing themselves after play,
    Remember the cat on that first Chirstmas Day.
    How she washed herself clean and untangled her fur
    To come to the Christ Child with lullabye purr.
    

    
    
       That's really cute!  They should make a song of it.