English / B1
The King o’ the Cats
One winter evening, the wife of a man who worked at the church was sitting beside the fire. Her big black cat, Old Tom, sat on the other side. Both were half asleep, waiting for the man to return from his work digging graves.
They waited a long time. Finally, he rushed into the house, calling, “Who’s Tom Tildrum?” His wife and the cat stared at him.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Why do you want to know who Tom Tildrum is?”
“I’ve had such a strange adventure,” he said. “I was digging Mr Fordyce’s grave. I think I must have fallen asleep. Then I woke up because I heard a cat.”
“Meow!” said Old Tom.
“Yes, just like that! I looked over the side of the grave. What do you think I saw?”
“How should I know?” his wife said.
“Nine black cats! Each had a white mark on its chest, just like Tom. Eight of them were carrying a small coffin, a box for a dead body. A black cloth covered it, and a little gold crown lay on top. The biggest cat walked in front.”
The man copied their cry: “Every third step, all the cats cried together, ‘Meow!’”
“Meow!” said Old Tom again.
“Yes, that was the sound. As they came closer, I saw them more clearly. Their eyes shone with a green light. But look at our Tom! You’d think he understood everything I’m saying.”
“Go on,” said his wife. “Never mind Tom.”
The man continued. The cats had walked slowly towards him, still crying together every three steps. “Meow!” he said, copying them again. Old Tom answered once more. At last, the nine cats had stopped directly in front of the grave and looked at the man.
“The one walking in front came forward,” he said. “It spoke to me in a high little voice! It said, ‘Tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum’s dead.’ That’s why I asked you about Tom Tildrum. How can I give him the message if I don’t know who he is?”
“Look at Old Tom!” his wife cried.
The cat was staring, his body growing bigger. Suddenly, he shouted, “What? Tim Toldrum is dead? Then I’m the new King of the Cats!” Old Tom was Tom Tildrum, the cat the message was meant for.
He rushed up the chimney above the fire and disappeared. They never saw him again.
English summary · includes the ending
On a winter evening, a woman and her black cat, Old Tom, wait by the fire for her husband. He finally rushes home asking who Tom Tildrum is. While digging a grave, he thinks he fell asleep and woke to a cat’s cry.
He saw nine black cats approaching with a small coffin. Eight carried it, while the largest walked in front. A golden crown lay on its black covering, and the cats cried together every third step. As he describes their cries, Old Tom repeatedly answers with a meow.
The leading cat told the man to tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum was dead. The man cannot deliver the message because he does not know Tom Tildrum.
Suddenly, Old Tom speaks. Learning of Tim’s death, he declares that he is now the King of the Cats. He rushes up the chimney and is never seen again.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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