The Commune of Cats

Long ago, when cats could still talk like human beings, a commune of cats lived in a large mansion.

Each of the 28 rooms in the house was filled with cats and kittens.

Only the 29th room was uncrowded.

This room was very large and took up the entire third floor of the house.

We shall hear more about who lived there later.

All in all, 103 cat families slept in the building

and strolled around the extensive grounds.

The cats had everything they needed to lead a comfy life

because they were rich.

A princess had once lived in the house until she was very old, and she left all her fortune to the cats.

When the princess ascended to the great palace in the sky, her faithful servant continued to live in the house and attend to all the cat's needs.

The years went by until he too passed on to join the princess,

and then the cats wondered,

who could be their new servant?

Now it so happened that there was a good-hearted young girl of 16 years

who lived in the same town as the cats.

This young lady's name was Lizzie, and she lived with her step-sister,

Maddie, who was extremely mean to her, and used to tell her that she was ugly and stupid.

One day, Lizzie had had enough of being run down and criticised, and she declared,

"'That's it. I'm off to live with the cats.'

"'Meow!'

...