Two "Babes"

 Here in two drawings is what was the smallest kitten from one of the most nusual litters you've ever seen.  The mother we called "Choppy" came to us pregnant and soon settled in a cardboard box away from kids and household traffic in the quiet of our back cellar.  We should have known her offspring would be different because her tail barely existed.  (Any less and she would have to have been a true Manx), but the group was as diverse in that department as possible.  Naturally one kitten did inherit it's mother's barely there stump while a second  made up for that deficiency with her more tail than most condition, almost twice the normal length!  Seems to me there was one almost normal kitten squeezed in there somewhere, but I have no clear memory because the last two were stranger still.  How about a pig-tailed male, normal length  tail but twisted in a tight  cur!?  It's true!

We kept the fifth one,for us the best strange tail of the bunch. This cute girl had a short, forked tail, - two ends!  Luckily the twin ends were hidden in that puffy stub you see in the drawings. She had neither the devilishness indicated by her tail norher mother'sstandoffishness. She grew up to be a delightfully happy lover, as sweet tempered as you'd ever want, the runt of the litter we  first called Baby, became our "Babe".


The eye loves repetition, but does not want to be bored. It likes familiarity, but needs surprises. (Edith Bergstrom)