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Curiosity Killed That Cat MAG

By Amalia L., Highland, NJ

It was drizzling the day we named our dog Curiosity after he killed the Siamese cat that belonged to the lady down the street. My mother had said the dog couldn’t stay, but after he got his name, it was too late. You can banish an It, but once the It has a name, It is family. My mother had hated that Siamese cat. She always said it looked down its nose at her. She wasn’t sorry it was dead. My mother didn’t like the Cat Lady, either. She liked the Cat Lady even less when the Cat Lady showed up at the front door in her bathrobe and demanded $1,000 to buy a new cat. My mother suggested that she go to Siam and get a stray cat off the street for free. From the living room, my father suggested that she go to Hell.

But the Cat Lady did not go anywhere. Ignoring the suggestions, she sat down on our front steps and settled in for a long stay. She removed one of her slippers and began massaging her arthritic left foot right there on our porch, in the rain. We watched through the curtains and my mother didn’t stop us because it is perfectly all right to stare at someone when they massage their old, veiny feet on your property.

My parents adopted the same principle for dealing with the Cat Lady as they used with my brothers when they did something they should not have: they ignored her. But as with my brothers, it didn’t work. When it started to pour, I decided to bring her a cup of tea. It was herbal tea, which meant that it was grass-flavored, and the first cup of tea I ever made. The Cat Lady invited me to sit with her while she sipped it, and she cried because I was such a dear and because her cat was dead and because rain was getting into her tea and because she did not want to go home to her empty house with Pansy’s blood on the kitchen floor.

Pansy was the cat.

It was drizzling the day we named our dog Curiosity after he killed the Siamese cat that belonged to the lady down the street. My father sent my brothers and me to clean up the Cat Lady’s house, so she would go away. Pansy lay in the Cat Lady’s backyard, very bloody and very dead. The dog tagged along behind the boys as had become his habit, and he barked loudly when he saw the cat. My brothers crouched over Pansy’s body, poking and prodding to see what she would do. Nothing. I went inside to assess the gory situation.

As I mopped the Cat Lady’s kitchen floor, I decided I would rather my death be bloody than boring. I did not want to lie in my bed fading into the pillow until I disappeared into a pile of wrinkled white blankets and sheets. The portly matron at the old age home would shake out the sheets forcefully and then toss them into the laundry crate. “Guess she’s gone,” she’d say to no one. No. I wanted there to be color and excitement in my death. Life is a struggle; it seems only appropriate that death should be, too.

My brothers planted Pansy in the backyard. As they lowered her into the ground, alongside some drooping azaleas, I thought that maybe if the Cat Lady watered her enough, Pansy would grow come springtime. Before the boys covered the cardboard box that was Pansy’s coffin with dirt, I noticed the words printed on top of the box: Handle With Care. Too late. © Alyssa J., Alabaster, AL



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This article has 43 comments.

zebonline said...
on Apr. 27 2014 at 3:13 pm
first of all it was a okay story. their were a few punctuation mistakes. the story dosent make much sense as the dog would have been put down if this actually happened.
on Feb. 20 2014 at 11:28 pm
Yeah I didn't get the ending either. What does that mean? The rest of it was REALLY good though!
Firelight23 BRONZE said...
on Jan. 7 2014 at 12:57 pm
Firelight23 BRONZE, Vadnais Heights, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 9 comments
Even though it was sad. Poor cat and Cat Lady!
on Jan. 7 2014 at 12:52 pm
I loved this story. The ideas were creative and didn't remind me of any other story I have read. It was like a breath of fresh air. Thanks for putting something new/different out there to read and for making it so interesting and entertaining.
SydneyDanielle550 said...
on Dec. 16 2013 at 12:17 pm
SydneyDanielle550, Henry, Tennessee
0 articles 2 photos 6 comments

you know you truly love somebody when they hurt you so badly, but all you can think about is the times that they made you smile.

Deej6595 BRONZE said...
on Nov. 16 2013 at 7:11 pm
Deej6595 BRONZE, Billerica, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 375 comments

I loved how you restated the first lines again in the last few paragraphs and after that you kind of stepped back from the story and reflected. You are a very good writer.
Blackdiamond166 SILVER said...
on Jul. 15 2013 at 6:27 pm
Blackdiamond166 SILVER, Westgate, Iowa
Wow! I really loved this! It was a little somber but you managed to highlight it with some humor and I loved it! XD Good job! Keep writing!! :)
Lilly Daisy BRONZE said...
on May. 10 2013 at 7:27 am
Lilly Daisy BRONZE, New York, New York
Hi there! Nice story, i am sorry but i didnt get the ending could you please explain it to me because it feels like i missed the punch line of this awesome story :(
BurrThistle GOLD said...
on Apr. 21 2013 at 5:59 am
BurrThistle GOLD, Jaipur, Other
10 articles 0 photos 162 comments

Write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect

Oh, the ending..... I'm still laughing. Keep writing!!
Childofthemind BRONZE said...
on Apr. 19 2013 at 8:11 pm
Childofthemind BRONZE, San Marcos, California
1 article 0 photos 42 comments
it made me laugh then cry then laugh some more :D
ConstanceContraire said...
on Apr. 19 2013 at 4:22 pm
Amazing Job! :)
C.M.L. BRONZE said...
on Apr. 19 2013 at 3:33 am
C.M.L. BRONZE, San Jose, California
3 articles 4 photos 22 comments

wobbledy wobbledy wa wobble wobble

Wow. One of the rare gems I've seen on this website.
NatalieZhu SILVER said...
on Mar. 7 2013 at 3:28 pm
NatalieZhu SILVER, New York, New York
A very nice story! I loved it!
ChrisJ PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 13 2013 at 7:35 pm
ChrisJ PLATINUM, Rochester, New York
24 articles 15 photos 289 comments

Very sad and touching, good job!
vaishnavi said...
on Feb. 13 2013 at 2:27 pm
vaishnavi, Dubai, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
good job !!
Cecil23 said...
on Jan. 22 2013 at 9:42 am
very nice story i absolutly loved it. thanks for the good read:)
In_Love_with_Writing GOLD said...
on Dec. 31 2012 at 2:13 pm
In_Love_with_Writing GOLD, Easton, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 389 comments

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

Really cute. Nice job.
just-another-url GOLD said...
on Feb. 9 2011 at 8:33 am
just-another-url GOLD, Cannes, Other
16 articles 6 photos 151 comments

"It's a good thing to be strange. Normalness leads to sadness." -Philip Lester

I agree a 100 % ! :)
FlyleafFreak DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 12 2009 at 4:57 pm
FlyleafFreak DIAMOND, Loveland, Colorado
51 articles 0 photos 203 comments

"I have faith in fools;self confidence my friends call it"~Edger Allan Poe
"In this world of infinite insanity, your friends are the best psychiatrists you will ever have."~Me

I love this poem. It has comedy and another feeling I can't quite put my feeling on. :)
Fredwardness said...
on Sep. 12 2009 at 12:35 pm
i really liked this piece i thought it was very interesting, i loved the name for the dog, it made me laugh a little