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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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The Spokesman-Review

The Slice

The little boy next door just started second grade.

I don’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. But he’s got the makings of a fine lion-tamer.

The other night, the two of us were visiting in the front yard when his family’s volatile cat ambled up.

I have cultivated a friendship with this gray feline. Thanks to a fair number of surf-and-turf snacks, we get along fairly well. Still, I would never attempt to pick her up.

You see, she bites.

I mentioned this to the little boy. He acknowledged that the cat’s trust was not easily won.

“Would she let you pick her up?” I asked.

He bent over and scooped her off the ground as if hoisting a loaf of bread. She tolerated it. There was no bloodshed.

While the boy held her, she gave me a look. I could swear it said “Don’t you try this.”

Paul Turner

pault@spokesman.com