The old cat speaks eight words
It's raining outside, and the rain falls like a pearl curtain. Although the season is already early autumn, through the rain curtain, you can still see that the grass on the small dirt hill by the window is still green and there is no need to turn yellow. A bright red flower looms in the evergreen tree. The ancient poem "A little red among all greens" is probably like this. This little flower burns like a fire, illuminating the muddy rainy day.
I like small animals since I was a child. With small animals, don't have a taste. They are naive and spontaneous; Eat, drink and drink; Will not lie, will not shirk; Be punished and beaten painfully; I stole it in the blink of an eye. With them, I feel happy, calm, safe and happy inside; Unlike people, I feel extremely uncomfortable in dealing with the problem of advance and retreat. I am cautious, choose my words carefully and keep my distance.
Fourteen years ago, my first cat was nothing. When I first came to my house, I was not much older than a mouse. Curled up in the narrow indoor windowsill, the space for activities seems to be very rich. It has no features, just an ordinary civet cat, with tiger stripes, black or yellow, not beautiful. However, there are some differences from ordinary cats. It has two bright eyes. When both eyes are open, it is really a tiger-tiger, so it is named tiger. He has a really bad temper. It's never afraid of anyone. Whoever tries to hit it, whether with a feather duster or a bamboo pole, it never evades, but attacks forward, with both expressions and expressions. Those who have offended it will never forget it. My grandson had a fight once and has been an enemy ever since. As soon as he came to my house and saw a figure through the glass window, he was ready to attack, and at the same time, with his claws, his roar was deafening. He has no choice but to walk around the house with a bamboo pole in his hand, just in case, otherwise he can't move. Once, an old comrade came to see me. He obviously likes cats very much. I saw nothing, so I kept saying, "I smell like a cat." The cat won't bite me. " He stretched out his hand to touch it, but never thought, we don't know what cat smell is, so we just took a bite. Old comrades were frightened to disgrace. In short, in the end, except for our third master, nothing was bitten by everyone, and its "bite" was quite sensational.
However, it is also incorrect to say that this is not comprehensive. In addition to biting violently, it has another side, gentle and sincere. Let me give you a small example. In the third year after you came to our house, I asked for another kitten. This is a hybrid Persian cat, with white body and long hair, but a small black and yellow pattern on his forehead. Our family calls this cat a foreign cat and Mimi. As a native cat, nothing is respected. The cat's temper is the exact opposite of nothing: timid and has never bitten anyone. Only when you run outside, you show a little wildness. As soon as it got the chance, it slipped out of the gate, but as soon as it saw its long-haired tail swinging, it immediately rushed into the bushes on the mountain like a sleeve and didn't go home for a long time. These two cats are not related by blood. However, I don't know why. When I enter the door, I don't treat Mimi as my own daughter. It has no milk, but insists on feeding Mimi, holding Mimi in her arms and letting it suck up its nipples. It squinted as if enjoying a blessing. When eating, I sometimes throw some chicken bones and fish bones, which are equivalent to cat's bird's nest and shark's fin. However, nothing is just sitting on the side, watching Mimi being eaten by the cat and never competing with it for food. Sometimes I say "Mio" twice, as if to say, "Eat, son! Eat quietly! " Sometimes, whether it's spring, summer or autumn and winter, we will catch some small animals from the mountains in the west, such as sparrows, grasshoppers, cicadas and crickets, squatting in front of the house and making strange noises in their mouths. This is cat language. Mimi in the room shrugged her ears whether she was sleeping or waking up, and immediately ran behind the door, drooling, waiting to eat the delicious food brought by her mother. Our family was deeply moved to see such a dear mother and son, and unanimously called nothing a "righteous cat". One year Mimi gave birth to two kittens. It's probably the first time to be a mother, and I have no experience. As our sage said, "People who don't learn to adopt children and then get married" learn quickly, but cats can't. Mimi left the kitten alone, but she was not busy with anything. She didn't sleep or eat, and held the kitten in her arms day and night. But kittens need milk, and milk is nothing. So the kitten was upset and frowned, and the plan came. She picked up the kitten and chased Mimi everywhere to let it nurse the kitten. It's really like grandma, but Mimi is ungrateful and still doesn't breast-feed the kitten. For a few days, I went door to door without eating or drinking, staring at two sparkling eyes and holding a kitten in my mouth; I came back in the blink of an eye. The kitten probably couldn't stand it, so she said goodbye to the world.
I watched this tragedy and comedy at the cat's house. I really have no choice but to regret it for a long time.
I have deep feelings for nothing and Mimi. Every night, they both fight to sleep in my bed. In winter, I specially spread a piece of cloth on the quilt for them to lie down. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel that something is weighing heavily on me. A warm current seems to have penetrated two layers of quilts and jumped on my leg. I know, the kitten sleeps soundly. Even if my legs are sore because they are stiff for too long, I always hold back my legs so as not to disturb the kitten's light dreams. At this time, it may be dreaming of catching mice. As long as my legs move, I can't be eaten by rats. Isn't this a wet blanket?
After a few years, Mimi is about eight or nine years old. No one is three years older than him. When he was eleven or twelve years old, he was still majestic and fierce, biting everyone, and he never changed his mind. Mimi, on the other hand, showed me the world unexpectedly, often urinating everywhere, and it was inconvenient on the table, chair and sofa. If you go to the hospital for examination, the doctor will definitely have one of the listed conditions: urinary incontinence. What bothers me most is that it just takes a fancy to the manuscript paper on my desk. I'm writing something, but it doesn't care at all. It jumped up, squatted down, and a bubble of cat urine flowed on it, still glowing faintly. I'm not in a hurry. It's not true. I am really in a hurry, but I keep one of my commandments: never hit a kitten, never hit it under any circumstances. At this point, I quickly picked up the manuscript paper, shook off the cat urine on it, and waited for it to dry itself. I am angry and funny. I'm really in distress situation. I turned a deaf ear to the ridicule of my family. "Wait for the autumn wind."
I don't believe in any religion, and I don't convert to any gods. However, at this time, I feel a little superstitious. I hope there will be a miracle to improve Mimi's condition. But there are no miracles in the world. Mimi's illness is getting worse every day. It doesn't want to go home, and likes to stay in the cracks in the stones by the lotus pond outside, or hide in the trees on the mountain. It doesn't sleep on my quilt at night. Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night and feel that the quilt is light, I feel very lost and even a little sad. Every morning, the first thing I do is to look for Mimi on the hill by the pond outside my house with a flashlight. It is white and easy to find. In the dark, my eyes flashed in vain, and I knew it was Mimi. Seeing me, he got up and came to me with the voice of "Mio". I took it home and gave it something to eat. It seems to have no taste at all. I want to cry when I see it. Once, I dragged my tired body and walked several miles to the butcher shop in Haidian to buy pork liver beef. Take it back to feed Mimi. When she smelled it, she seemed a little hungry. But as soon as the meat touched his lips, he immediately retracted his head, closed his eyes and ignored it.
One night, I saw Mimi's face was very bad, and I had a premonition that something was going to happen. I called him, but he wouldn't come in. I put it in the fence and under the windowsill. I brought two bowls, one for food and the other for water. I patted him on the head and he snuggled up to me. He called "Xu" twice and closed his eyes. I want to go in and sleep. The next morning, I opened my eyes, walked three steps at a time and went outside with a flashlight in my hand. Oh, no! Both bowls are there, and the cat's shadow is gone. I'm so sad that I can't tell you what it feels like. With a flashlight, I searched ponds, mountains, trees, grass, deep ditches and crevices. Sometimes, white light flashes before my eyes. "It's Mimi!" I am ecstatic. A closer look reveals that it is a blank sheet of paper. I feel so sad that something seems to have been dug out of my heart. "I've looked everywhere in front of and behind the house, and I haven't seen many places." From then on, I lost my chest and disappeared from my life forever. I almost lost a good friend and a relative. Looking back now, I'm still shaking inside.
When I was in the heaviest mood, a kind person told me that cats have a special ability to know when they will die. At this moment, they will never stay in their master's house and let the master see the dead cat and feel uneasy or sad. They always fled to the most secluded and difficult corner, in the gutter, in the cave and among the trees, waiting for the last moment. So most cat owners can't see the dead cat's body at home. As long as their cat is sick and doesn't come back after going out for a few days, they will know that it has passed away, and they are not allowed to hold a farewell ceremony for the body and will never come back.
After listening, I realized something. I am not a philosopher or a religious scholar, but I have read many articles about life and death by philosophers and religious scholars. Most of these articles are very incisive and shine with wisdom. I also want to learn something about life and death from them. The result is nothing. Those articles are hardly useful except preaching. Most of them are platitudes and can't solve any practical problems, which left a deep impression on me. Now it seems that what cats did when they died, even if it was just instinct, gave me great inspiration. Shouldn't people learn from cats? Life must die, this is the law of nature, and no one can escape. Famous figures in the history of China, including dissidents, Hanwu and Tang Zong, tried their best to live forever. In the end, the bamboo basket was empty, leaving only a cup of loess. "The west wind still shines on the Han tomb." Why do ordinary people of our generation have to go to great pains? It is really a trivial matter for a person to die a few hours earlier or a few hours later, which will never affect the rotation of the earth and the progress of society. Step back and think about it. Now some open-minded people don't want to live forever and leave another loess on the earth. Even enlightened not to say goodbye to the body and not to hold a memorial service. But it will still leave some troubles for future generations: running newspapers, issuing obituaries, calling everywhere to inform, and always being busy for a while. Why not learn from cats? How ingenious they are in dealing with life and death in this way! Leave no trace, go, go, go forever, so that people in this colorful world don't have to cry and still dream of a colorful world.
It suddenly occurred to me that the pure land in the west on Dunhuang murals that I have seen many times has changed. The so-called "pure land" is what we often call Xanadu and Xanadu. This is a place where many religious believers burn incense, read Buddhism, learn from the scriptures, pray, and even practice asceticism, torture themselves and realize their dreams. It is said that you can enjoy blessings there and get happiness that you will never get in the world. I saw the houses, streets, trees, flowers, adults and children painted on the murals and felt very lively. But I don't think it's surprising. There is only one thing that will never leave an indelible impression on me, that is, people there always smile, no one is sad, and their lives are probably very comfortable. Unlike there are so many unsatisfactory things in our world, sometimes we have to find a back door and use loopholes to do something. Do they still have a market economy-pure land? Do they still need this store? -Salespeople are probably very kind, don't give people a look, don't scold "God", don't talk together, and don't give people a nail. I really yearn for such a paradise. But what impressed me most, surprised me most or envied me most was their attitude towards the dying. People there, probably similar to cats in the world, can know in advance when they will die. At this time, the dying old mammy or old man walked in front with flying steps, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, close relatives and friends, all smiling, without any sad expression, as if to attend any happy event, always sending the old man to the grave. What about the aftermath? Murals are not movies. They cannot be moved. However, after drawing this program, the future is self-evident. If you have to draw a grave filled with mud, it seems to be carrying coals to Newcastle. I think the people of Pure Land have won us glory. They are much more beautiful than cats. How open-minded I am, knowing that I will die, but I am in high spirits! How clever! Can cats do it? This proves that pure land people really understand the mystery of life and the laws of nature. Man is the spirit of all things, and they really add light to us human beings in comparison with cats! What a pure land!
I think too far. Let's go back to our world. I frankly admit that I don't know enough about the mysteries of life and the laws of nature. I still miss my boobs. There seems to be a blank in my heart that I need to fill. I must find a white Persian cat exactly like Mimi. Later, sure enough, my friend sent another one, with long hair and white as snow. Both eyes are green, shining like two emeralds. In memory of Mimi who died, I still named her Mimi. Seeing it is like seeing an old boob. About another year later, my friend gave me another Persian cat, which is said to be purebred. His eyes are different colors, one is yellow and the other is blue. In the sun, the yellow is particularly yellow, and the blue is particularly blue, like two yellow sapphires, shining and competing for beauty. This cat is particularly naughty, almost daring, but cuter. This time, I was so busy that I thought the two kittens were my own daughters and forced them to suck their shriveled nipples. As long as it goes out, I don't know where to get birds, grasshoppers and the like and take them home for two kittens to eat. I haven't heard the voice of "Mio" calling a kitten for a long time, and now I hear it again. My heart is overflowing with a little sweetness. This greatly eased my nostalgia for old breasts.
But time waits for no one, and neither will cats. This "native cat" has nothing and has lived for fourteen years. According to people who know the world, a cat's fourteen years old is equal to a person's eighty or ninety years old. In this way, I am not a "person" of my age. This is nothing to be surprised about. Sometimes, there are old faces. Two bright eyes suddenly covered with a film; Saliva came out of his mouth and his beard shone; I don't want to go inside. I lie on the honeycomb briquette on the balcony day and night, without eating or drinking. I had the experience of old Mimi, and I knew it was dying. I also went to Haidian to buy beef and pork liver, hoping it wouldn't leave this world hungry. I am always ready: I wake up the next morning with nothing. And you didn't do it. I don't look at anything first thing in the morning; Through the window, or a mass of black stuff, lying there. I feel comforted in my heart. Sometimes, it gets up and walks. At the beginning of this article, I wrote what I saw through the window on a rainy day in late autumn last year.
Now, half a year has passed. Nothing. Not only did I stay, I was stronger than before, and I went out every day. Sometimes at night, a corner of the curtain outside the window suddenly opens and a clown's three faces flash. I knew it was nothing, so I quickly opened the door and let it in. Probably like some old people-not all old people-who turn evil into good in their twilight years, their temper changes greatly. Almost never bite again. I get up in the dark in the morning and write that I am tired from watching. I often go for a walk at the foot of the lake outside the door. At this point, I suddenly kicked a soft thing at my feet. It's nothing. It stayed somewhere at night, and now it sees me. Suddenly it comes out, rubs my leg with its body, and hovers around me. It follows me step by step, and it follows me wherever I go. I sometimes climb the mountain on purpose, thinking that it won't follow, but when I turn around, nothing follows behind me. Cats never walk with people. Only dogs would do that. Sometimes passers-by will be surprised to see this scene. "Look at that cat walking with its owner!" They said, showing surprise. Recently, it seems that nothing is more energetic and youthful than this. Sometimes he will bring a little male cat and his great-grandson to our balcony. "We met tonight." We met without introduction. It seems that the day when nothing will come back is still far away. I became the owner of a family with three cats.
I have had cats for more than ten years, with four before and after. What did cats learn from people? I don't know cat language and I won't ask. As a person, I did learn something useful from cats. The way of dealing with death mentioned above is an example. After all, I am very old myself, and I often think of death. Lu Xun thought of it in his fifties. I'm really behind the times. Life must die, which is irresistible. And I also think that death is a good thing. If no one died in the world, even our ancestors, Xuanyuan and Kong, would still drive Mercedes-Benz for a walk in Tiananmen Square today. What do you think the human world will be like! Humans have been passers-by for hundreds of generations, and they always have to go there, which will never affect the rotation of the earth and the progress of human society. Every generation is just a part of a long-distance relay race with no end. Where were those lost times before me? Behind me, where are the future generations? , is a general agreement. It should be a happy event for people to die when they are old, just like in the pure land. It is normal for the old man to run the stick himself, give it to future generations and rest himself. No matter how fast or slow, they finally ran a stick, finally made contributions to the progress of mankind, and finally completed their vocation. Old-age retirement is determined by physical and mental conditions, and no one can change it. Do old people feel lonely? I think so. But I think this loneliness is natural, and from an ethical point of view, it should even be. I have always advocated that old people should live for young people, not the other way around. Young people have batons in their hands, the world is theirs, the future is theirs, and hope is theirs. The bounden duty of our old people is to try our best to help them move forward. If necessary, they should lie on the ground and let them step on their own bodies. Jia Mu in A Dream of Red Mansions is not only unable to study because she is afraid of loneliness, but also a crime from the perspective of human future interests. When I say these words, some people may wonder if something unpleasant happened to me before I said something that surprised some people. No, no, never. I am healthy now, my family is harmonious and I have many friends in the society. I still read, write, communicate with people and have meetings every day. I don't feel unhappy or lonely. However, after all, I am over 80 years old, and my road ahead is limited. Sometimes I still can't help thinking about it. Besides, I have been with cats for a long time, and I think there are some things in them that are really worth learning. We, the spirits of all things, should condescend to learn. Even if we only learn how cats deal with death, how much trouble our society will have!
"So, are you going to study?" I think I heard someone ask this question. Yes, I want to learn, but I still have some difficulties. I have no cat instinct, and I don't know when my time is up. I'm a little worried. If I really learn from cats, one day I suddenly sneak out of the house, get into a corner, a bush, a cave and a river ditch, and dive in to hide. In this way, our human society is not as flat as the cat society. Someone must think this is a big news, pointing fingers and swearing. If it is in the old society or today's Hongkong, it will definitely become an explosive news on the front page, no less than Yang Naiwu and Chinese cabbage in those days. My relatives and friends will also send people out to find them, perhaps more than Peng. What a terrible thing it is! So I hesitated. As for where to go in the end? I'm thinking, deliberating and studying.