The Second Cat Megapack: Frisky Feline Tales, Old and New Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  INTRODUCTION: ALL CATS ARE GRAY…, by Robert Reginald

  THE CATS OF ULTHAR, by H. P. Lovecraft

  THE CAT WITH THE TULIP FACE, by A. R. Morlan

  THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT, by Lord Redesdale

  ZUT, by Guy Wetmore Carryl

  THE MOUNTAIN CAGE, by Pamela Sargent

  MADAME JOLICŒUR’S CAT, by Thomas A. Janvier

  THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF, by Rudyard Kipling

  THE WOMAN WHO HATED CATS, by Margaret St. John Bathe

  GIPSY, by Booth Tarkington

  THE CAT WHO CHANGED INTO A WOMAN, by Eugène Scribe

  A CARGO OF CAT, by Ambrose Bierce

  THE HUNTER CATS OF CONNORLOA, by Helen Hunt Jackson

  WHITE COMMA, by A. R. Morlan

  NINE LIVES, by E. Nesbit

  THE BLACK CAT OF THE OLD MANOR HOUSE, by Elliott O’Donnell

  MONCRIF’S CATS: FIRST LETTER, by François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif, Translated by Reginald Bretnor

  CAT, by Reginald Bretnor

  EPITAPH OF A CAT, by Joachim du Bellay, Translated by R. N. Curry

  TRAPS, by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski

  THE BLACK CAT’S EYES, by Benjamin F. Ferrill

  TO A CAT, by Algernon Charles Swinburne

  SHIREEN AND HER FRIENDS: PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF A PERSIAN CAT, by Gordon Stables

  CAT ON A HOT TAR ROOF, by Gary Lovisi

  CATS AND CANDY, by Mark Twain

  CRY FROM A FAR PLANET, by Tom Godwin

  CAT THIEF, by Ernest Dudley

  LEGEND OF THE CAT, by Mary Rocker-Gramlich and Charles Allen Gramlich

  CAT BURGLAR, by Robert Reginald

  CALVIN, by Charles Dudley Warner

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Second Cat Megapack is copyright © 2013 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. For more information, contact the publisher. Cover art © KatyaKatya / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  “Introduction: All Cats Are Gray…,” by Robert Reginald, is original to this book. Copyright © 2013 by Robert Reginald. Published by arrangement with the author.

  “The Cats of Ulthar,” by H. P. Lovecraft, was originally published in The Tryout, November, 1920.

  “The Cat with the Tulip Face” was originally published as a chapbook as part of the series, Short Story Paperbacks, #29, 1991, and reprinted in Ewerton Death Trip: A Walk Through the Dark Side of Town, by A. R. Morlan, Borgo Press, 2011, and in The Hemingway Kittens and Other Feline Fancies and Fantasies, by A. R. Morlan, Borgo Press, 2013. Copyright © 1991, 2011, 2013 by A. R. Morlan. Reprinted by arrangement with the author.

  “The Mountain Cage,” by Pamela Sargent, was originally published as The Mountain Cage in chapbook form by Cheap Street, New Castle, VA, 1983. Copyright © 1983, 2013 by Pamela Sargent. Reprinted by arrangement with the author.

  “The Woman Who Hated Cats,” by Margaret St. John Bathe, was originally published in Weird and Occult Miscellany, Gerald G. Swan, London, 1949, and reprinted in Fantasy Adventures #1, Cosmos Books, Wildside Press, 2002. Copyright © 1949, 2002, 2013 by Margaret Dulling. Reprinted by arrangement with Cosmos Literary Agency.

  “The Cat Who Changed into a Woman,” by Eugène Scribe, translated by Frank J. Morlock, was originally published in Zeneida & The Follies of Love & The Cat Who Changed into a Woman: Three Plays, edited and translated by Frank J. Morlock, Borgo Press, 2013. Reprinted by arrangement with the editor/translator.

  “White Comma,” by A. R. Morlan, was originally published in Transversions, Issue 10, 1999 (Canada), and reprinted in The Hemingway Kittens and Other Feline Fancies and Fantasies, by A. R. Morlan, Borgo Press, 2013. Copyright © 1999, 2013 by A. R. Morlan. Reprinted by arrangement with the author.

  “Moncrif’s Cats: First Letter,” by François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif, translated by Reginald Bretnor, was originally published under the title, Moncrif’s Cats: Les Chats de François Augustin Paradis de Moncrif, The Golden Cockerel Press, London, 1961, and reprinted by Wildside Press, 2013. Copyright © 1961 by Reginald Bretnor; Copyright © 2013 by Wildside Press LLC. Reprinted by arrangement with the author’s estate.

  “Cat,” by Reginald Bretnor, was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April, 1953. Copyright © 1953 by Reginald Bretnor; Copyright © 1997 by Story Books. Reprinted by arrangement with the author’s estate.

  “Traps,” by Jack Dann and George Zebrowksi, was first published in Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1970, and reprinted in Decimated: Ten Science Fiction Stories, by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski, Borgo Press, 2012. Copyright © 1970 Universal Publishing & Distributing Corp.; Copyright © 2012, 2013 by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski. Reprinted by arrangement with the authors.

  “The Black Cat’s Eyes,” by Benjamin F. Ferrill, was originally published in West, March 3, 1928.

  “Cat on a Hot Tar Roof,” by Gary Lovisi, was originally published in Attitude: Stories, by Gary Lovisi, Borgo Press, 2013. Copyright © 2013 by Gary Lovisi. Reprinted by arrangement with the author.

  “Cry from a Far Planet,” by Tom Godwin, was originally published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, September, 1958.

  “Cat Thief,” by Ernest Dudley, was originally published as “The White Mog” in The Church Cat: Clerical Cats in Stories and Verse, edited by Mark Bryant, Hodder & Stoughton Canada, 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Ernest Dudley. Reprinted by arrangement with Cosmos Literary Agency.

  “Legend of the Cat,” by Mary Rocker-Gramlich and Charles Allen Gramlich, was originally published in E-Genre #19, 2001. Copyright © 2001, 2013 by Mary Rocker-Gramlich and Charles Allen Gramlich. Reprinted by arrangement with the authors.

  “Cat Burglar,” by Robert Reginald, is original to this book. Copyright © 2013 by Robert Reginald. Published by arrangement with the author.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt, Reginald Bretnor, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  This volume was edited by Robert Reginald and Mary Wickizer Burgess.

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS

  The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip th
rough. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Charlie Chan Megapack

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Megapack

  The Second Cat Megapack

  The Dog Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack

  The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The First Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  INTRODUCTION: ALL CATS ARE GRAY…, by Robert Reginald

  Our second anthology of cat stories includes feline fantasies, science fiction tales, mysteries, mythology, westerns, romances, memoirs, horror, shapechangers, tales of cat lovers and cat haters, and some pieces that just defy description. Cats have beguiled writers for as long as fiction has existed. There’s something about our mysterious feline companions that intrigues and captivates our fellow humans, who will do anything and everything to please Their Majesties, in the hope for a ten-minute purr in return.

  Our late cat Nipper saw himself as monarch of all he surveyed, and disliked other members of his species to the point where he attack them on sight, despite his diminutive size; he’d also sit perched on the top of the living-room couch, gazing out the picture window, and gnash his teeth (you could hear them grinding!) at any birds that dared trespass on his sacred territory. With us, however, he could be either distant or cozy—depending on the season! He was never gray.

  Noteworthy in this new compilation are: the classic tale, “The Cats of Ulthar,” a story by H. P. Lovecraft; “The Cat with the Tulip Face,”

  A. R. Morlan’s moving prequel to her long horror novel, The Amulet; “The Mountain Cage,” by Pamela Sargent (best-known for her Venus Trilogy of novels), a period piece looking at the leaders of Nazi Germany through the eyes of their pets; “The Black Cat of the Old Manor House,” the story of an horrific cat visitation by the well-known ghost hunter, Elliott O’Donnell; “Traps,” by Jack Dann and George Zebrowksi, where we meet some alien felines on a distant world—and NOT in a nice way; “Cat on a Hot Tar Roof,” by Gary Lovisi, an amusing sequel to “Mrs. Milligan’s Cat” from The [First] Cat Megapack; “Shireen and Her Friends,” the autobiography of a Persian cat; “Cat Thief,” a crime story by Ernest Dudley; and Reginald Bretnor’s “Cat,” in which the discovery of a cat language has unexpected consequences—twenty-five tales in all, plus a play about a cat who changes into a woman, and three poems. Enjoy!

  —Robert Reginald, 7 July 2013

  THE CATS OF ULTHAR, by H. P. Lovecraft

  It is said that in Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, no man may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him who sitteth purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique Aegyptus, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Meroe and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.

  In Ulthar, before ever the burgesses forbade the killing of cats, there dwelt an old cotter and his wife who delighted to trap and slay the cats of their neighbors. Why they did this I know not; save that many hate the voice of the cat in the night, and take it ill that cats should run stealthily about yards and gardens at twilight. But whatever the reason, this old man and woman took pleasure in trapping and slaying every cat which came near to their hovel; and from some of the sounds heard after dark, many villagers fancied that the manner of slaying was exceedingly peculiar. But the villagers did not discuss such things with the old man and his wife; because of the habitual expression on the withered faces of the two, and because their cottage was so small and so darkly hidden under spreading oaks at the back of a neglected yard. In truth, much as the owners of cats hated these odd folk, they feared them more; and instead of berating them as brutal assassins, merely took care that no cherished pet or mouser should stray toward the remote hovel under the dark trees. When through some unavoidable oversight a cat was missed, and sounds heard after dark, the loser would lament impotently; or console himself by thanking Fa
te that it was not one of his children who had thus vanished. For the people of Ulthar were simple, and knew not whence it is all cats first came.

  One day a caravan of strange wanderers from the South entered the narrow cobbled streets of Ulthar. Dark wanderers they were, and unlike the other roving folk who passed through the village twice every year. In the market-place they told fortunes for silver, and bought gay beads from the merchants. What was the land of these wanderers none could tell; but it was seen that they were given to strange prayers, and that they had painted on the sides of their wagons strange figures with human bodies and the heads of cats, hawks, rams and lions. And the leader of the caravan wore a headdress with two horns and a curious disk betwixt the horns.

  There was in this singular caravan a little boy with no father or mother, but only a tiny black kitten to cherish. The plague had not been kind to him, yet had left him this small furry thing to mitigate his sorrow; and when one is very young, one can find great relief in the lively antics of a black kitten. So the boy whom the dark people called Menes smiled more often than he wept as he sat playing with his graceful kitten on the steps of an oddly painted wagon.

  On the third morning of the wanderers’ stay in Ulthar, Menes could not find his kitten; and as he sobbed aloud in the market-place certain villagers told him of the old man and his wife, and of sounds heard in the night. And when he heard these things his sobbing gave place to meditation, and finally to prayer. He stretched out his arms toward the sun and prayed in a tongue no villager could understand; though indeed the villagers did not try very hard to understand, since their attention was mostly taken up by the sky and the odd shapes the clouds were assuming. It was very peculiar, but as the little boy uttered his petition there seemed to form overhead the shadowy, nebulous figures of exotic things; of hybrid creatures crowned with horn-flanked disks. Nature is full of such illusions to impress the imaginative.

  That night the wanderers left Ulthar, and were never seen again. And the householders were troubled when they noticed that in all the village there was not a cat to be found. From each hearth the familiar cat had vanished; cats large and small, black, grey, striped, yellow and white. Old Kranon, the burgomaster, swore that the dark folk had taken the cats away in revenge for the killing of Menes’ kitten; and cursed the caravan and the little boy. But Nith, the lean notary, declared that the old cotter and his wife were more likely persons to suspect; for their hatred of cats was notorious and increasingly bold. Still, no one durst complain to the sinister couple; even when little Atal, the innkeeper’s son, vowed that he had at twilight seen all the cats of Ulthar in that accursed yard under the trees, pacing very slowly and solemnly in a circle around the cottage, two abreast, as if in performance of some unheard-of rite of beasts. The villagers did not know how much to believe from so small a boy; and though they feared that the evil pair had charmed the cats to their death, they preferred not to chide the old cotter till they met him outside his dark and repellent yard.