The Squeak-Squeak Family

excerpt I asked my neighbour to lend me his tomcat one more time. When he's at his wits' end a man will try anything. Come on then, let's give the tomcat another try. Maybe he'll have learned his lesson by now, especially since the neighbour was determined to chase him out if he still got up to his tricks. As a matter of fact, he gave him a talking to right there in front of me: "Be warned that if you don't start behaving yourself, if you do anything else unseemly to this gentleman here, then tomorrow you will be out of my house, you lazy, dozy, thieving cat!" Harsh words, but well deserved. I took the tomcat back home and I told him: "Look here, tonight you have a chance to atone for the grave sins of which you are guilty. Rid me of the Squeak-Squeak family and you too will be rid of the punishment your master is otherwise going to give you. And so that the Devil won't tempt you to pilfer any more, I'm now going to treat you to some milk and steak." I gave him a piece of meat and a bowl of milk. He ate and drank, and then all his troubles passed. "Sir, I beg your forgiveness," he said. "I had the misfortune to fall asleep once, and the other time to go into the cupboard. But it goes without saying that the cupboard was to blame. It goaded me into doing wrong. I know an old story, also involving a cupboard…" "Please spare me your tales. I don't have time for them right now. Lie in wait and teach those mice a lesson." "I'll kill them!" "No you won't kill them. Just give them a good whacking and they'll flee my house forever." "I'll kill them so I will!" "Please. Just listen to what I'm telling you and that's all." I went to bed, somewhat concerned that the tomcat would want to show off, and would do in the Squeak-Squeak family once and for all. I didn't want the death of the sinner, but rather his reformation. However, I dreamed that the poor Squeak-Squeak family were being throttled by the tomcat, who then gobbled them up. I woke up: "Well, didn't I tell you that you had no right to kill them?" "Sir, the mice haven't even come!" answered the tomcat, who was keeping watch in a corner. Well, yes, I had been unjust and I begged his forgiveness. After that, I went back to sleep, leaving him to sulk. I woke up with a start. It was daylight. What's this in my bedroom? I open one eye. I look. But this is all too much. There can be no question that I'm dreaming. I open the other eye. This can't possibly be happening, but nonetheless it is. The tomcat is sitting and chatting with the entire Squeak-Squeak family, and the rascal is pointing at me and laughing. And the mice are all in a circle around him. They are all looking at me, and the rascals are laughing. The old she-mouse is calling the tomcat "chum" and praising his adroitness. "Not that I'm praising you, chum, but I heard a while ago that you are the cleverest one hereabouts." "True," said the rat. "And the greatest hunter in the world." The tomcat was preposterously puffed up with pride and pointing at me. "Leave him to sleep like a badger," said the rat. "He's a bad man. He has it in for us. He wanted to make you a party to his bad deeds. He set you on some poor wee beasts like us, who barely touch the trifles in the cupboard. But we have made you a party to good deeds, and we have had a feast together, like creatures who were once enemies but who from now on will be on brotherly terms. From now on, mice and tomcats will be friends." "Yes!" replied the tomcat. "Let it be a lesson to that man over there," he said pointing at me, "who scolded me for sleeping and for skimming the cream off his milk after he had let me go hungry all day long." "What ill-breeding!" said the old she-mouse in amazement. "What an outrage!" replied the rat. "What a heavy blow For the clever fellow! What nasty, stingy folk…" the young ones spoke. The tomcat, foolish and puffed-up with pride, was taken in by their hypocrisy and was giving me stern looks. The mice were nudging each other and winking, making fun of him. "From now on in harmony Like brothers we shall be… There'll be no more war 'Twixt mice and tomcat's paw…" Tineretului, 1957


by Ion Pas (1895-1974)