COOKIE

There was a loud meowing in the barn of Grandma Lounder's little weekend house. It's less than a week since Cookie gave birth to her four beautiful kittens.

Cookie was a pretty well-behaved cat, I'll give her that. She didn't wander far, she didn't fight with the other cats in the neighbourhood, she loved to be petted and cuddled by children, and she ate all the food that was, so to speak, kitten food.

It logically follows that she should be a truly respected and valued cat citizen in the village of Somogy. If that's what you thought, I must disappoint you.

Cookie, unfortunately, was not even close to the esteemed category. You ask why?

The answer, unfortunately, is quite simple. This kitten was born with black fur. It doesn't hurt to add that we're talking about a shiny, glossy velvety soft black kitten fur.

I must say, the poor thing has received all sorts of criticism. Once even the neighbour's son Bill threw a stone at her, saying his parents were getting a divorce because she had recently run across the road in front of him. But it never occurred to him that his parents had filed for divorce days before and discussed this with him.

Poor Cookie had broken her leg, which meant she couldn't walk for a month, and this sadness meant she could barely eat. And the kitten, if one looks carefully, is still limping.

But now let's talk about something happier. The question many people may ask is why she was named Cookie. Even if it's not obvious at first glance, if I tell you, it will be obvious to you.

It happened once that Grandma was trying out one of her new cookie recipes. She put the cookie in the oven and started petting the little cat meowing next to her. She was like an angel. She purred and nuzzled. It went on like that until the burnt smell hit their noses. They tried in vain to save the dessert, but it was already burning black as soot in the oven.

Since it was clear who was to blame, and since the colour of the kitten matched the colour of the cookie, the newcomer was called Cookie.

And now the little one was all grown up and had kittens.

She was lucky not to have heard all the negative criticism from superstitious people. 'More black cats?!' 'More bad luck for us!' These and other such things have been said in recent months.

Not that she had any other choice, but as I said, Cookie ignored them, and gave herself over completely to the joys of becoming a mother.

Grandma Lounder's two little grandchildren, Joe and Lucy, followed her through the birthing process in the barn. Lucy was even in tears as she kept asking her grandmother, 'does it hurt her?', 'Will it be all right?'

In the end, of course, all went well and four beautiful kittens were born that evening in the barn on the old blankets Grandma had prepared. And the two children spent most of the day petting the kittens.

It wasn't long before their eyes were opened and the kittens were taught to climb down the tree properly and to meow back when they were meowed at.

One night there was a fire in the stable. The cause was unknown, although it was most likely caused by a short circuit.

Grandmother Lounder, Lucy and Joe were alerted by the loud whinnying of the horses and the frightened shouts of neighbours. Already the bell had been knocked aside as they rushed through the dark yard to the source of the noise, where the helpful Mr. and Mrs. Pilsth, Nancy, and half the village were already running over to the barn to begin rescuing the animals and extinguish the fire.

Mr. Pilsth and a few other people ran for water to buy some time against the flames.

Nancy was leading a white mare out when a black fur flared out between the horse's white legs. It was Cookie, but she wasn't alone. She was carrying one of her cubs in her mouth. She set the kitten down in the safety of the peach tree and ran back for the others.

When she got to the barn, she grabbed the kitten closest to her and ran straight to the peach tree where she put her down with her brother.

Meanwhile, Bill, who lived opposite, and Mr. Pilsth ran towards the stable, holding two or three buckets of water. The rescue was going well, with only two horses and a pig in the stable, but the water helped to buy time.

Mrs. Pilsth and Bill led the next horse out and managed to free the trapped pig.

By this time the fire had spread almost unchecked, as the pine tree behind the stable had caught fire and soon afterwards fell on the roof, which, being of wooden construction, immediately caught fire.

Joe then caught sight of Cookie, who had come out of the flames with another cub in her mouth. He ran up to her and stroked her fur. Lucy was there and picked up the kitten.

By this time, almost the whole barn was on fire. It was like a huge bonfire.

One of the boys was bringing out the last horse, a stallion, when half the roof collapsed and the horse went completely wild, running out from under the crumbling door, dragging the boy with him. The animal was calmed and stopped while being placed safely with the others. He had no idea that this was a stroke of luck, as the next moment the doorjamb collapsed, completely blocking the entrance and exit.

However, not everyone was safe yet. From a small window in the stable came a bitter whine. Cookie had barely put the previous one down before she was running back to rescue her last trapped cub.

When she reached the top, she started to look for the way in, but the fire had long since closed it.

She looked back. Her kittens were in the loving arms of the children, but somehow they sensed their mother's gaze and looked up at her.

Cookie meowed a mew towards them, which must have been some sort of motherly signal. Maybe it was 'be good!'

Half the village looked questioningly at the cat on top of the barn.

Cookie took a brave leap and threw herself into the flames.

Bill then stood beside Joe and looked at the small window, where the cat disappeared with tears in his eyes. He didn't say a word, just stared ahead, but his eyes betrayed his fear and regret. Perhaps there was even some respect in it. He respected the cat for not leaving her kitten alone. She did everything for her.

Together they watched when she would come out.

They waited, but she didn't come.

The end

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