“Holy is my name,” said the Cat.
“Why do you stand on one leg?”
“Because if I stood on all four, the earth could not bear my weight.”
“And why do you keep your mouth open?”
“Because I feed on the air, and never eat anything else.”
“And why do you face the sun?”
“Because I worship the sun.”
“What a pious Cat!” the Rats all thought. Ever after that, when they started out in the morning, they did not fail first to make their bow to the Cat one by one, and to show thus their respect for his piety.
This was just what our Cat wanted. Every day, as they filed past, he waited till the tail of the string came up; then like lightning pounced upon the hindmost, and gobbled him up in a trice; after which he stood on one leg as before, licking his lips greedily.
For a while all went well for the Cat’s plan; but at last the Chief of the Rats noticed that the troop seemed to grow smaller. Here and there he missed some familiar face. He could not make it out; but at last a thought came into his mind, that perhaps the pious Cat might know more about it than he chose to tell.