ostcard StoriesThe Writer
My name is Jack. I am a brown tabby, male. Well, I used to be male. I am six years old and I've been with my mistress for six months. She adopted me from the humane society. She says that on the whole I'm a good cat; the only thing I do that she doesn't like is scratch the furniture. But, what's a cat to do? You've got to keep your claws sharpened up for those mice.
My mistress is a writer. She likes playing with words almost as much as I like playing with mice, but she doesn't need long claws for typing so it's hard for her to understand my situation.
She has many names for me. Jack in the Box, Jack o'lantern, Jack of all trades, Jackpot, Natterjack, Hijack, Jack be nimble, Jackson, Mr. Jackson (when you're this big they call you mister), Jack in the pulpit. She says my name lends itself, whatever that means, and she plans to write some stories about me under my different titles.
The name Natterjack is the one she likes best. She found it quite by accident when she was looking up nattier blue in the dictionary. Natterjack is a species of small toad with a yellow stripe down its back, it runs instead of hops. Well, I do run a lot and I rarely hop, and I do have stripes down my back though they're not yellow, and I do talk a lot, so I think this name is quite appropriate for me.
My mistress got out the cat-mobile today. She says she's going to adopt a pet to keep me company while she spends those long hours on the computer. Her name is Millie, tabby, female (was female). She's the same age as me, too. I don't think she'll gain as much notoriety as me. Whoever heard of Millie in the box or Millie o'lantern? Certainly there's no nattermillie!
I hope she's friendly; those cats that come up from the city to visit now and then won't play with me nor even talk to me. Millie's probably a country cat, my mistress says. She'll be used to mice and can help me catch them. When I'm famous, she can bring them to my couch and I can play with them and not have to work to catch them first.
Ah! This writer's life is a grand life.
© Judith Lawrence
