The Woman

Many people have tried to get the cat into traps, even going as far as baiting the traps, chasing the cat into the traps, but none have succeeded in actually catching the cat.

You see, it's not the cat they want, but the key around its neck. The key will open a door, same as any other key. Opening this door, however, will get you a free ticket to marry the most beautiful woman in town.

I've watched the men for months, all of them scratching their brains for new ideas of how to get the key. All of them have tried to force the cat into giving it to them, but the cat always gets away.

One even had tried to kill the cat, but the woman said the cat needed to be alive, or the entire contest would be cancelled, and that she would marry no one.

The men didn't like this idea very much, and everytime the cat decided it had enough of this foolishness, it would get back into the house. Nobody likes it when the cat goes inside.

They don't get to try out their new stupid ideas, and I don't get to watch them make a fool of themselves.

I carry on with tending to my garden. Watering the squash, I noticed soft outlines of a cat's paws in my garden. Laughing to myself, I think of ways to outsmart the cat.

Traps of all shapes and sizes have failed, chasing the cat didn't work for them either, baiting the cat only ended in getting clawed, and waiting for the cat to sleep didn't work either, the cat slept inside. Nothing worked.

How could I get the key? Could I even get the key? Is it even possible? I shake my head to clear the questions from my thoughts as I leave my garden.

Looking through my cupboards I find food for lunch, jam and fruit sandwiches sound pretty good right now.