Mr. Petersand's Cats (and Kittens)

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Mr. Petersand's Cats (and Kittens)

     Every summer when the people from the city came back to Firefly Island, they all did pretty much the same things on the first day. They unlocked their doors,    Author:  Louis Slobodkin
Copyright Date:  1954
Publisher:  Vanguard
Pagination:  63 p.

opened their windows wide, filled their iceboxes with food, filled their wood boxes with wood, then they would sit down and sigh.
     “My ... It’s good to be back,” they usually said as they looked around their living rooms. “Yes, indeed ... Yes ... it sure is good to be back. ... Everything looks exactly the same ... exactly ... except for ... h-m-m, except for ... Dear me, the fireplace! That does look different somehow. ...”
     And after they had thought a moment or two, they suddenly realized their fireplaces looked different because ...
     “A CAT!” everyone would exclaim in one voice. “We have no cat ... or even a kitten! ... What’s a fireplace, what’s a home without a cat or at least a kitten? We must get a cat or a kitten at once to make our homes complete!”
     Then they would run out of their houses and go looking for a stray cat or at least a kitten that could be adopted to make their homes complete. Almost everyone went looking except those sensible people who had brought their own cats from the city or those who had brought their own dogs. These sensible people usually sat on their front porches and smiled a superior smile at the others who went looking for a cat or kitten.
     Now there was a Mr. Petersand who was a fisherman and he lived on the Island all year round. And although he was one of the two people who lived on Firefly Island all year round (the other one was the man who took care of the Lighthouse light at the far end of the island) Mr. Petersand was never lonesome because he had cats to keep him company. And he did not have just two cats and not just three ... or even four cats! ... Mr. Petersand had a whole lot of cats! A whole houseful of cats! . . . . . . . . . . . .

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opened their windows wide, filled their iceboxes with food, filled their wood boxes with wood, then they would sit down and sigh. “My ... It’s good to be back,” they usually said as they looked around their living rooms. “Yes, indeed ... Yes ... it sure is good to be back. ... Everything looks exactly the same ... exactly ... except for ... h-m-m, except for ... Dear me, the fireplace! That does look different somehow. ...” And after they had thought a moment or two, they suddenly realized their fireplaces looked different because ... “A CAT!” everyone would exclaim in one voice. “We have no cat ... or even a kitten! ... What’s a fireplace, what’s a home without a cat or at least a kitten? We must get a cat or a kitten at once to make our homes complete!” Then they would run out of their houses and go looking for a stray cat or at least a kitten that could be adopted to make their homes complete. Almost everyone went looking except those sensible people who had brought their own cats from the city or those who had brought their own dogs. These sensible people usually sat on their front porches and smiled a superior smile at the others who went looking for a cat or kitten. Now there was a Mr. Petersand who was a fisherman and he lived on the Island all year round. And although he was one of the two people who lived on Firefly Island all year round (the other one was the man who took care of the Lighthouse light at the far end of the island) Mr. Petersand was never lonesome because he had cats to keep him company. And he did not have just two cats and not just three ... or even four cats! ... Mr. Petersand had a whole lot of cats! A whole houseful of cats! . . . . . . . . . . . .