Sunday Times - Third Edition

Everybody Needs a Friendly Sock

This is a story about a black cat named Slickfester Dude and a Siamese cat named Tjej (Tjej is swedish for 'girl' and it's pronounced Shay.) Slickfester and Tjej were real cats, and Tjej really did these things. Slick's conversation with me is, of course, imaginary.

"She's doing it again," Slick told me one evening as he jumped up onto the bed next to me. Downstairs, I could hear Tjej making cat noises.

"Sounds like she's got her sock," I said to Slick, who rolled his eyes.

"She is so strange," he said.

Moments later, Tjej showed up in the bedroom. In her mouth was a rolled up pair of socks. She set them down, said a few words, and lay down beside them.

"When did all this start?" Slick wanted to know.

"When she was a kitten she played with socks she found in the clean laundry basket," I explained. "She carried them around like a doll and talked to them."

"But she's not a kitten anymore. So what's her problem?"

"Actually, she quit for a while, until she had kittens of her own. Then she started again, as if to teach them about playing sock."

"I saw one in the food dish one day," Slick said. "And another time, it was in the water pan."

"I know. She treats them as if they're alive. Like they're friends."

"I saw one on the bed next to her grown-up son, Lloyd. Does that mean he's doing it too?" Slick sounded quite disgusted.

"I don't think so. I saw Tjej put that sock there, next to him, while he was taking a nap," I said. "In fact, she did that to me once."

"She gave you the sock?"

"Yep. I was taking a nap, and when I woke up, the sock was lying against my arm. As if Tjej was giving it to me to be my friend."

"Very peculiar," Slick said. "It's probably because she's Siamese."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Weird cats, those Siamese."

"Any weirder than black ones?"

"What do you mean by that?" Slickfester Dude sat up straight and glared at me.

"I mean, all of you cats are unique and special because of what's inside of you, and your color or breeding isn't what's important."

"Well, it's what's inside of that Siamese that's strange."

-----Carol Duerksen

Reprinted by permission from Now It Springs Up by Carol Duerksen, Michele Hershberger, and Laurie Oswald Robinson. Published by WillowSpring Downs, email willowspringdowns@juno.com