瓊·克雷格黑德·喬治

“No cats， period. Now， do your chores，” she ordered.

The cat argument always ended this way. Alice Dibber， Mikes foster mother， really disliked cats.

Mike rolled up his sleeves and began washing the pile of dishes and pans in the big steel sink. This was one of the chores he had to do for Mrs. Dibber. As he worked， he longed for that spunky Rachet. He remembered how warm the tiger cat had felt in his hands. Somehow she filled an empty space in him. He felt she shared that emotion with him. Rachet， he fantasized， was an orphan， too.

And wonder of wonders， he realized Rachet was teaching him how to speak “cat.”

By watching the Roxville cats and Rachet every day， he was beginning to understand why they held their tails as they did—rank and mood. Why their pupils widened and narrowed—anger and fear when they were wide， and satisfaction when they were narrow. Their ears also talked—back for fear， forward for friendship， and against their heads and down for aggression. But it was mostly their independence that pleased Mike. He admired that.

What is more， he had sensed that Rachet， too， had known a miserable earlier life. Maybe they could make up for it if they had each other.

He wanted her badly. He would figure out how to have her without making Mrs. Dibber mad at him.

When Mr. Dibber died two years ago， Mrs. Dibber was forced to close off the tower and three upstairs bedrooms to save heat. She had moved down to the parlor， where the elegant furniture and the beautifully wrought Franklin coal stove stood. Mike lived in the upstairs servants room， impatiently waiting for the four years to pass until he was eighteen and independent… like Rachet.

He missed Mr. Dibber. He had been a kindly man and jolly. The two of them had been good friends. They had hung out on the docks together admiring the yachts that were moored there and eating ice-cream cones and hot dogs， which Mrs. Dibber never allowed in the house. They often went out on Mr. Dibbers boats. He had taught Mike how to keep those boats perfect by caulking， sanding， and painting them. Boats were things of beauty， Mr. Dibber had said， and a path to great adventures.

Mr. Dibber had also taken him to basketball games because he knew Mike liked basketball. Now he was gone. Mike wiped his eyes with his sleeve and thought of Rachet.

He smiled as he rinsed the dishes and pans， thinking what fun he had had with a cat when he was younger. His birth dad had brought home a tabby cat when Mike was seven.

She used to sit on his books while he did his homework， he recalled. To keep her busy and out of trouble， he had put a paper bag on the desk， and in she went. Cats have to go into paper bags， Mike didnt know why. But she would fuss around in it until he got his homework done. She was wonderful.

“不能養(yǎng)貓，就這樣。現(xiàn)在，做家務(wù)去?！彼钸~克。

有關(guān)養(yǎng)貓與否的爭(zhēng)論總是以這樣的方式結(jié)束。愛麗絲·迪波是邁克的養(yǎng)母，很不喜歡貓。

邁克卷起袖子，開始洗那些放在巨大鋼質(zhì)洗碗池里的一大堆碟子、盤子和鍋。這是他必須為迪波夫人做的家務(wù)之一。他一邊洗碗，一邊想著那活潑大膽的拉齊特。他想起那只虎斑貓?jiān)谑掷锔杏X是多么溫暖。不知為何那只貓?zhí)钛a(bǔ)了他心里的一處空缺。他能感覺到貓咪也有同感。他猜想，拉齊特也是一個(gè)孤兒。

最最奇妙的是他覺得拉齊特在教會(huì)他如何講“貓語”。

通過每天觀察羅克斯維爾火車站的貓咪以及拉齊特，邁克開始理解它們尾巴動(dòng)作的意義了——那標(biāo)志著地位和情緒。還有它們的瞳孔為什么會(huì)擴(kuò)大和變窄——生氣和害怕的時(shí)候就變大，心滿意足的時(shí)候就變窄。它們的耳朵也會(huì)講話——耳朵往后伏是害怕，往前伸是友誼，貼著腦袋往下是要攻擊。不過，讓邁克喜愛的是它們獨(dú)立不羈。邁克欣賞這一點(diǎn)。

還有一點(diǎn)，邁克覺察到拉齊特也有一段痛苦的早期生活經(jīng)歷。如果他們能夠擁有彼此，也許會(huì)彌補(bǔ)彼此的遺憾。

邁克迫切地想得到拉齊特。他要想出一個(gè)辦法得到她，同時(shí)又不會(huì)惹得迪波夫人生他的氣。

兩年前，迪波先生去世了。為了節(jié)省供熱，迪波夫人被迫關(guān)閉了塔樓和三個(gè)樓上臥室。她自己搬到了客廳來住?？蛷d里有典雅的家具和鑄造精美的富蘭克林煤炭爐。邁克住在樓上的仆人房間，焦躁地等待著再過四年，自己十八歲，然后就可以獨(dú)立了……像拉齊特那樣。

邁克懷念迪波先生。迪波先生是一個(gè)和藹樂天的人。他們倆是很好的朋友。他們一起在碼頭上閑逛，欣賞停泊在那里的游艇，一起吃冰淇淋甜筒和熱狗。迪波夫人不讓他們?cè)诩依锍赃@些。他們經(jīng)常乘坐迪波先生的船出門。迪波先生教會(huì)了邁克如何通過填嵌、打磨和油漆使得船只保持完美的狀態(tài)。迪波先生說過，船只是美妙的東西，可以憑借它們進(jìn)行偉大的冒險(xiǎn)。

迪波先生還經(jīng)常帶邁克去看籃球賽，因?yàn)樗肋~克喜歡籃球?，F(xiàn)在迪波先生已經(jīng)去世。邁克用袖子擦了一下眼睛，想起了拉齊特。

邁克一邊洗涮鍋碗瓢盆，一邊微笑，因?yàn)樗肫鹆诵r(shí)候有一只貓的快樂時(shí)光。邁克七歲的時(shí)候，他的生父曾經(jīng)帶回家一只虎斑貓。

邁克回憶起來，他做作業(yè)的時(shí)候，虎斑貓就坐在他的書本上。為了讓貓咪有事兒干不搗亂，邁克在書桌上放了一個(gè)紙袋子，貓咪就鉆了進(jìn)去。貓咪就愛鉆紙袋子，邁克不知道為啥。但貓咪總是在紙袋子里忙來忙去，直到他做完作業(yè)。那只虎斑貓棒極了。