He took a basket which he filled with old cotton towels. The old man led the embarrassed clerk into his modest teahouse. A big boy like you will get no harm from a kitten. – Ouch! No, not the claws, don’t bare you claws!īecause of all this commotion, people had stopped into the street, eyeing curiously this comical man who cursed loudly and wiggled, never catching the obstinate rascal nestled beneath his juban.įinally, an old man, crooked and bent, took pity on him. The man twisted and turned as he tried to seize the little cat who had snuggled deep into his kimono. The poor thing suckled and suckled, harder and harder, desperate to fill his belly. The young man had not understood the famished kitten was only trying to suck milk. With his other hand, he loosened the folds of its kimono.īut, as he soon as he put the baby cat against his warm skin, the kitten disappeared far into his kimono and pressed its small mouth on his stomach. The clerk sighed and took the kitten out from his bundle. The kitten only responded more forcefully: – Ah hush! Please don’t make it more difficult than it is! The kitten was waking up and it was hungry. As he walk briskly he suddenly heard a muffled cry. The young man put the unfortunate kitten in his cotton bundle and hastily took off for the temple. He called one of his clerks and ordered him to go abandoned the kitten by the temple grounds.

You are going to scare my customers away!

This face of yours is so creepy, it’s like you’re bearing a personal grudge against the whole world. It looked more and more like a grumpy, sullen old man. The kitten opened his eyes and started to walk. – Well, it’ll get better when you’ll grow up.ĭays passed. But it also had the strangest little face, with a furrowed brow and a funny sulky muzzle. The kitten was a tiny little thing, with closed eyes and drooping ears as many new born kittens have. He hired a doctor to look after her and made many prayers for her well being at the local shrine.įinally, the calico cat gave birth to a single kitten. – Isn’t she the loveliest cat around? Look how beautiful she is! Come, come pet her, she’s so sweet and soft! Oh and have you seen, I have just received… The man had a beautiful calico cat he pampered, sure his good fortune was directly linked to his furry friend lucky aura. The place was always crowded with customers, with many lively clerks running errands everywhere around. Hundred and hundred of sacks and crates were stocked from floor to ceiling. Once upon a time, there was a prosperous merchant who held a grocery store in old Edo.

Grumpy kitten