The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
‘Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t’other had slept a wink! . . .
The gingham dog went “bow-wow-wow!”
And the calico cat replied “mee-ow!”
The air was littered, an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico . . .
the gingham dog and calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,
Employing every tooth and claw
In the awfullest way you ever saw-
Next morning where the two had sat
They found no trace of the dog or cat . . .
My mother recited Eugene Field’s poetry to me. Another favorite is Wynken, Blynken, and Nod who set sail on a silvery sea.
About five years ago, son-in-law Tom wondered what it was when he saw a brown blur running across the far side of a big field behind their house out in the country north of Angola. The creature made its way to their deck and, shivering from the cold, peered in at them through the sliding glass door. It was a pretty chocolate lab. They let her in to get warm.
Lily is a very intelligent canine who recognized a good thing when she saw it and began visiting every day. The owner’s husband didn’t like Lily and turned her out in the cold. Vicki traced down her owner who lived at a farm up the road. Vicki would call the woman to come and get Lily. One time Vicki put Lily in her car and drove her home. When she looked in the rearview mirror, there was Lily, running behind the car. Lily’s owner finally allowed Vicki and Tom to formally adopt Lily, provided that her children who loved Lily could visit.
Three years ago, as a Christmas present, Bill decided that I needed a cat in my life again. I wanted to rescue a cat. I cried all the way through the cat section at the pound because I couldn’t take all of them. Some sat dejectedly with their backs to us. Others meowed piteously and looked at me as if to say, “I’m a good cat. Take me, take me!”
We went to Pet Smart which had a few animals for adoption. The clerk said, “A lady is returning her five-month-old scattered calico because of allergies. Come back later. Her owner named her “Precious,” and she is precious!” Long and skinny, the cat was anything but precious, but her owner who had hung around to see if she approved of us and the clerk were so hopeful that I adopted her—much to Bill’s surprise.
Thus, Ms Kalico Kitty, aka Pusscatkin, entered our home and our hearts. (She asserts that she is an independent feline and insists on the “K” in her name because “Calico” is so ordinary.) She began life as a feral kitten in a litter that was taken in and socialized before adoption.
I put her in my bathroom because she was so frightened. She hid on the edge of the tub between the shower curtain and the liner. Periodically I’d go in and sit down, and hesitantly–ever so slowly—one paw at a time—she’d creep onto my lap. She turned into a plump beauty with a blend of dark and tawny fur, a white vest and white paws, and huge, round golden eyes.
Like Lilydog, she recognized a good thing. She is as loving as any dog and follows Bill and me wherever we go and waits outside closed doors, is pristine in the use of her litter box, plays tag with Bill and sleeps on my lap and on the foot of our bed. There is only one thing wrong with her. After all these years, she still absolutely despises Lily. wclarke@comcast.net