eow, Meow, Meow

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, the fiancée of the Baron, lived just minutes away from the Baron’s castle. One of Lady Angela’s personal staff was a young woman named Sheila. Sheila had a cat named Gabby. This was not unusual except that Sheila claimed that her cat, Gabby, could talk.

Week after week Sheila would tell Lady Angela about the conversations that she would have with the talking cat. After a while, Lady Angela mentioned this to the Baron who found the story most amusing and asked if Lady Angela ever saw the cat. She told the Baron that she had never seen the cat because it was kept at Sheila’s home in the village. The Baron said that to satisfy her curiosity, why not visit Sheila at her home and see if the cat really could talk.

The following day, Lady Angela asked Sheila if she could see the cat first hand at her home and listen to the cat talk. Sheila agreed.

When Lady Angela saw the cat, Gabby, for the first time, the cat did not appear any different from any other domestic cat. The cat looked at Lady Angela and said, “Meow.”

Sheila said that this was just a simple greeting like hello. “Ask the cat a question,” Sheila said. Lady Angela did, and the cat replied, ”Meow.” “That means ‘Yes.’” Another question and the answer came back, “Meeooww.” “That means ‘No,’” Sheila said.

“Do you mean to tell me, Sheila, that you can only ask a question of the cat that can be answered with a yes or a no?”

“That is correct,” Sheila said.

“But, Sheila, the answers that the cat gives sound the same. One meow is just like another meow.”

“Not really, your Ladyship,” Sheila responded. “One meow is short and the other meow is long. Like ‘Yes’ and ‘Noooo.’”

Lady Angela very politely smiled and left for Alpine Castle. “Shall I really keep Sheila under my employment?” she thought to herself.

When the Baron heard about this he said, “Just let the talking cat issue alone. Whatever Sheila thinks is fine as long as she is a good worker. Pets are sensitive to the owner’s words and vice versa,” he added.