Long ago, there was a man who was a tree cutter who worked in the forest. One day, he had to work later than usual and would be walking home as it was getting dark, and he would have to walk through the forest. Some people were afraid of the forest at night. But this man was very big, very strong, and he also had his wood axe. So he was not afraid.
As he walked along the dark & gloomy forest trail on the way home, he could see, that is barely make out, some sort of figure up ahead on the trail. As he got closer, it seemed to him that the figure was moving the same direction as him, and the man was overtaking it. But it was dark and hard to make out what the figure was. The man was not afraid because he was very big, very strong, and he had his axe. As the man got closer, it looked like the walking figure was a cat. As the man got closer still, he could make out that it was indeed a cat, but it appeared to be walking upright, like a human. As the man got closer still, he could make out that the cat was not only walking upright but was also walking backward as it dragged another dead cat along the ground. The man could see that it was one cat, walking upright and backward, dragging along the ground using its front paws, the dead body of another cat. The man was astonished to see this, but he was not especially afraid. It was only a cat. As the man overtook the walking cat and was beside it on the road, the walking cat suddenly looked up at him, directly in his face, and in a human voice said to him: “Tell Mrs. Biddles she can come home now. The Old Man is dead.” Then the cat simply returned to dragging along the other dead cat body. The man was astonished but simply continued on his way along the dark forest path.
Soon enough the man emerged from the forest and came to his cabin. He entered, greeted his family, and tucked his children to bed. His wife served him dinner and he ate and drank with her. He and his wife retired to their chairs in front of the fire and they talked about what they did that day. At one point, the man told his wife the strange story of the walking and talking cat. As soon as he finished the story, their own cat, who was sleeping by the fire, jumped up, stared at him, and then leaped into the fireplace, and scrambled up the chimney. The cat was never seen again.
The End.
