THE SAUSAGE THIEF
He couldnt help but notice that cat. Mostly because the cat was always pinching things from his little grocery shop. But he did it with such charm, it was completely impossible to be angry. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The shopkeeper actually started looking forward to the whole spectacle. Hed film the whole event on his phone, then show it to his wife in the evening, and the two of them would have a good laugh together. So, heres how it usually went.
The cat would spend an age sitting calmly by the open door, pretending that he was only there for a little rest, not up to anything suspicious at all. Hed glance around, checking carefully to ensure nobody was watching. The shopkeeper would be hiding behind the big chiller, recording the action.
The cat would then slink in, heading straight for the counter with the sausages. There, hed speed up, snatch a sausage or frankfurter, and dash out in a flash. But hunger always got the better of him. Only a few metres from the shop, hed stop and tuck into his loot.
The shopkeeper would come outside and, without getting too close, ask,
Tasty, is it?
The cat would look up and give a hearty meow in agreement.
Thats all right then, the man would reply.
Come back whenever.
You might wonder why the sausages were out there on the counternot in the fridge, not tucked away, and even set out as individual frankfurters and sausages. The explanation was perfectly simple: the shopkeeper just had a kind heart.
He decided to feed the cat this way. The cat had first appeared at the shop, skin and bone, clearly starving, but absolutely refused to come near the man or accept any food hand-fed to him. So, the man found another way.
At first, he left sausages right by the shop entrance, so that Oscarthats what hed named the thiefcould help himself, honest as can be, by working for his meal. It did the trick. Gradually, the shopkeeper put the sausages further and further inside, until they ended up on the lower shelf beneath the main counter, close to the floor.
Oscar had long since earned the right to simply stroll in, pick whatever he fancied, and stroll out again. But, the thing is, ladies and gentlemen, it was all about the chase: stolen food always tasted better.
Later, the man set up a water bowl just outside, a big dish of the finest cat food, and a plastic tub filled with sand. Next to that, he put a little dog kennel with a warm blanket inside. Oscar was still cautious and wouldnt let anyone near him, but he did enjoy a chat.
The shopkeeper would follow after the stolen sausage and start up a conversation. Oscar, enjoying his meal, would sometimes glance up at the man and meow back.
But one thing started to puzzle the shopkeeper: Oscar was no longer thin and ragged, in fact, he looked healthy as ever and didnt seem in need of sausage theft any more. Yet, without fail, twice a day Oscar would nab a couple, then vanish around the corner. The shopkeeper tried again and again to find out where Oscar was running off to, but the cat always slipped away.
So the man bought a small camera with a good angle of view and set it up so he could watch on his computer in the back. One day at last, he discovered Oscars secret.
A ginger kitten darted out from the cellar window of the house round the corner, pouncing eagerly on the sausage Oscar brought him.
Tomorrow, you hear me! Tomorrow, youre bringing them BOTH home! the mans wife declared that evening, tears of laughter and joy running down her face.
It turned out, however, to be quite impossible. Oscar was easy to catch by nowhe napped right in the middle of the shop often enoughbut the kitten would be impossible to get ahold of.
The days went by. On the computer, the shopkeeper watched as the little ginger kitten sipped water from Oscars bowl or dozed in the dog kennel. But at the slightest attempt to approach, the kitten scampered off, his tail up like a ginger lightning bolt.
One day things changed. There was a strange sound coming from by the shop door; no customers were around. Leaving his spot behind the counter, the man walked towards the noise.
There was the ginger kitten, sitting on the shops doorstep, mewling at the top of his lungs.
Whats wrong, little one? asked the man, surprised.
The kitten scooted up, looked straight into his eyes, and dashed off for the exit. Without thinking, the man followed. Around the corner of the house lay Oscar, howling in painhed been bitten by a dog on his right hind leg. Hed managed to escape, but the wound was deep.
The ginger kitten pressed his little head to Oscars side and yowled again.
Oh, you poor things, said the shopkeeper.
He took off his jacket and wrapped Oscar up in it, gently lifted the unresisting kitten, and tucked him into his suit pocket. On the way out, he shut the shops front door and got in the car.
They spent five hours at the vet, while the wound was cleaned and stitched up. The shopkeeper and the kitten, whom he now christened Flame, got thoroughly acquainted in that time. Flame was playful and chatty.
That evening, the shopkeeper closed up the shop and took a woozy Oscar and the lively Flame home. His wife was delighted. And what do women do when theyre happy? Thats rightthey ring round all their friends. That process takes hoursit demands detailed stories, explanations, and advice.
When she finally finished, the man, Oscar, and Flame were sprawled out asleep across the bed.
Well, this is a fine thing, remarked his wife.
Where am I supposed to sleep?
No matter. Flame was only too happy to make room, and he snuggled up to her, kneading her gently with his tiny paws.
And that, you see, is how they found their family.
Now the two big, well-fed cats hardly resemble strays at all. Sometimes, for old times sake, Oscar will give Flame a wash and Flame never complains.
And across the road, in front of the shoe shop, a little grey female cat has settled. The sales assistant is always popping round to the grocery shop to buy her food.
Perhaps one day shell take her home too. Perhaps, someday, cats will become so few that youll have to join a long queue and take a special course to be allowed one.
What do you think? Could it ever come to that?
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