Pocket book 8

 "If the whole furry gang went out in the yard (and as you know, dear Bia, all kittens are curious) they now have the chance to see all that our grandpa and his granny keep in the yard."

"What else do they keep?"

"Look right here!"

"Besides the cats? I see a white dog, shaggy, not ugly, not too pretty who, knock on wood, seems to have no eyes at all."

"He has eyes, of course he does. The dog, named Atos, is a faithful guard. Very alert, with lots of sense, he knows beforehand, the unfriendly man."

"Atos, you say? Look, Alina, right now, white Simina is sniffing the shaggy one."

"Sniffing him? Isn't she afraid?"

"She's not afraid, and the shaggy one, curious too it seems, doesn't bark, doesn't bite, doesn't even growl."

"A big dog and a cat getting along... that's rare!"

"And that's not all, very close, nose to nose, the two seem to understand. You won't see in all the world such a friendship!"

"You never know... What else do you see?"

"Well, there's everything, let me count to my heart's content. Two ducks, short legs, quacking through the yard, walking all around, as if on promenade. And a drake, what a drake! His feathers all ruffled, as if he just got scared, by some express train. I also see some hens, there are five, no, there are six: two white, one black, and three more speckled and crested. All stand by the rooster, spurred and colored, proud as an emperor. And Kitt, quiet Kitt, I don't know how it happened, but he's now among the hens, mouth agape, still, as if rooted in place. He listens and understands, not a cluck at all, but... he's not scared."

"How could he be scared? He's a clever kitten. He studies all the time, how it happens, how it's done, how to get along with the other dwellers in grandpa's yard."

"But, I also know, my girl, that aroundthere there is a rascal of a tomcat, who's been hanging around for a year in the grandparents' yard."

"Yes, I see him, he's here! Big, fat and all spotted, white and black and ginger, putting on airs like a lion."

"He's the tomcat Amedeu!"