TheZenofCatTheManwasverysad.HeknewthattheCat’sdayswerenumbered.Thedoctorhadsaidtherewasn’tanythingmorethatcouldbedone,thatheshouldtaketheCathomeandmakehimascomfortableaspossible.ThemanstrokedtheCatonhislapandsighed.TheCatopenedhiseyes,purredandlookedupattheMan.AtearrolleddowntheMan’scheekandlandedontheCat’sforehead.TheCatgavehimaslightlyannoyedlook.“Whydoyoucry,Man？”theCatasked.“Becauseyoucan’tbearthethoughtoflosingme？Becauseyouthinkyoucanneverreplaceme？”TheMannodded“yes.”“AndwheredoyouthinkI’llbewhenIleaveyou？”theCatasked.TheManshruggedhelplessly.“Closeyoureyes,Man,”theCatsaid.TheMangavehimaquestioninglook,butdidashewastold.“Whatcoloraremyeyesandfur？”theCatasked.“Youreyesaregoldandyourfurisarich,warmbrown,”theManreplied.“Andwhereisitthatyoumostoftenseeme？”askedtheCat.“Iseeyou…onthekitchenwindowsillwatchingthebirds…onmyfavoritechair…onmydesklyingonthepapersIneed…onthepillownexttomyheadatnight.”“Then,wheneveryouwishtoseeme,allyoumustdoiscloseyoureyes,”saidtheCat.“Pickupthatpieceofstringfromthefloor——there,my‘toy.’”TheManopenedhiseyes,thenreachedoverandpickedupthestring.ItwasabouttwofeetlongandtheCathadbeenabletoentertainhimselfforhourswithit.“Nowtakeeachendofthestringinonehand,”theCatordered.TheMandidso.“Theendinyourlefthandismybirthandtheendinyourrighthandismydeath.Nowbringthetwoendstogether,”theCatsaid.TheMancomplied.“Youhavemadeacontinuouscircle,”saidthecat.“Doesanypointalongthestringappeartobedifferent,worseorbetterthananyotherpartofthestring？”TheManinspectedthestringandthenshookhishead“no.”“Closeyoureyesagain,”theCatsaid.“Nowlickyourhand.”TheManwidenedhiseyesinsurprise.“Justdoit,”theCatsaid.“Lickyourhand,thinkofmeinallmyfamiliarplaces,thinkaboutallthepiecesofstring.”TheManfeltfoolish,lickinghishand,buthedidashewastold.Hediscoveredwhatacatmustknow,thatlickingapawisverycalmingandallowsonetothinkmoreclearly.Hecontinuedlickingandthecornersofhismouthturnedupwardintothefirstsmilehehadshownindays.HewaitedfortheCattotellhimtostop,andwhenhedidn’t,heopenedhiseyes.TheCat’seyeswereclosed.TheManstrokedthewarm,brownfur,buttheCatwasgone.TheManshuthiseyeshardasthetearspoureddownhisface.HesawtheCatonthewindowsill,theninhisbed,thenlyingacrosshisimportantpapers.Hesawhimonthepillownexttohishead,sawhisbrightgoldeyesanddarkestbrownonhisnoseandears.Heopenedhiseyesandthroughhistearslookedoveratthecircleofstringhestillheldclutchedinhishand.Oneday,notlongafter,therewasanewCatonhislap.Shewasalovelycalicoandwhite…verydifferentfromhisearlierbelovedCatandverymuchthesame.男人非常伤心。他知道猫余下的日子不多了。医生说已经没得治了，他只能把猫带回家，并尽可能地让他在剩下的时间里过得舒服些。男人把猫放在腿上，叹了口气。猫睁开眼睛，呼噜呼噜地叫着，抬眼看了看男人。一滴眼泪从男人的脸颊边滑落，落在了猫的额头上。猫有点不高兴地看了他一眼“你哭个什么啊，伙计？”猫问道，“因为你无法承受将要失去我的念头？因为你认为永远都没有什么能代替我？”男人点了点头。“是啊。”“那么你认为我离开你以后，会到什么地方去了呢？”猫问道。男人无望地耸了耸肩。“闭上眼睛吧，伙计，”猫说。男人疑惑地看了他一眼，但还是听话地闭上了眼睛。“我的眼睛和毛皮是什么颜色的？”猫问。“你的眼睛是金色的，你的毛皮是浓郁而温暖的褐色的。”男人回答道。“那你最常在什么地方见到我呢？”猫问。“我经常见到你……在厨房地窗台上看鸟……在我最喜欢的椅子上……躺在桌子上我需要用的文件上……晚上睡在...
