The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop,and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed.The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.

　　The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. He opened his eyes and through his tears looked over at the circle of string he still held clutched in his hand.

　　One day, not long after, there was a new Cat on his lap. She was a lovely calico and white…very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same.

　　【中文譯文】：

　　男人非常傷心。他知道貓余下的日子不多了。醫生說已經沒得治了，他只能把貓帶回家，并盡可能地讓他在剩下的時間里過得舒服些。

　　男人把貓放在腿上，嘆了口氣。貓睜開眼睛，呼嚕呼嚕地叫著，抬眼看了看男人。一滴眼淚從男人的臉頰邊滑落，落在了貓的額頭上。貓有點不高興地看了他一眼。

　　“你哭個什么啊，伙計?”貓問道，“因為你無法承受將要失去我的念頭?因為你認為永遠都沒有什么能代替我?”男人點了點頭。“是啊。”

　　“那么你認為我離開你以后，會到什么地方去了呢?”貓問道。男人無望地聳了聳肩。“閉上眼睛吧，伙計，”貓說。男人疑惑地看了他一眼，但還是聽話地閉上了眼睛。

　　“我的眼睛和毛皮是什么顏色的?”貓問。“你的眼睛是金色的，你的毛皮是濃郁而溫暖的褐色的。”男人回答道。

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