|
The Lesson
From quiet repose to lightning strike, the cat pounces silently using muscles ensconced in velvet and feet with finely honed claws. The mouse emits a pitiful scream and the game begins. The mouse now dangling limply between the sharp teeth is carried to a more convenient location for the dance of death. Placed upon this feline stage and released, the mouse is stunned and scurries toward a dark corner and safety. Lightning quick, the claw catches the tail and the mouse freezes in fear. Again, the catch, over and over as if refining her technique. The mouse tires. The cat takes the time for a quick grooming lick before catching again as if to mock and show off her agile hunting abilities, taunting the doomed mouse. She rolls on her back now and tosses the dazed, half-dead mouse over and over into the air and catching it in mid-flight. The deed done, the game over, she crushes with her powerful feline fangs. This is nature at its most efficient. She leaves the gift at my feet and studies my reaction with an all knowing, ancient instinct as if to say, “That is how it is done. The next one is yours.” Barbara Vallaster Cramer |
