A TALE

 Once upon a time there was a curious black cat.

He used to show up on our back wall from time to time.

While curious, he was also cautious.

"Let's see, I wonder if this is a safe place for me to take a little rest."

"It seems to me like I can smell a trace of other cats here before me.

It might not be prudent. I am not in the mood for a cat fight."

But comfort won out over caution and he stretched out for a bit.

But as he rose up after his period of relaxation, he spotted me, spotting him.

"Okay, human, are you going to chase me out of your yard? But he's inside, behind that window, I don't think he's much of a threat."

"I'll just use this old blue cat as a stepping stone to cross over and see if there's anything to eat outside their back door."

But the tale took a sudden turn when he got to just a few feet from the glass slider door and I loomed up on the other side of it.

I carefully slid the door open and called to him but he was already back across the yard and up on the wall.

When I inched outside intending to sit down in my chair and see if he'd come over to me, he took off the other way.

At the far end of the wall, he stopped and turned to look back to make sure I wasn't coming after him.

All right, black cat, I'll see you later.

"Not if I see you first, human."