oby, the Mystery Cat

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

The strange occurrence around the castle stables was that a cat would appear and then after a few days would disappear, then a few days later would reappear. The cat would fortify itself with food from the feedbags at the stable before leaving again.

Finally, a stable hand noticed a collar on the cat that bore the name “Toby” on it and some other words in French. The occurrence was relatively unimportant but the Baron was told about it just for his own amusement. Lady Angela was very curious about where Toby the cat went between visits to the stable.

A Lilliland cemetery worker noticed that a strange cat would come every few days and sit by the grave of its master. The grave was that of a French skier who lived high up in the Alpine Mountains and had a severe winter storm bury himself and his entire cabin. He perished, but as the rescuers reached the remains of the cabin, a small cat that survived the storm scampered out of the ruined cabin and ran away.

The body of the French skier was buried in Lilliland Cemetery and this cat watched over the burial and stayed by the grave of its master.

The cemetery worker, who observed the cat, wondered where it went when it left the cemetery for a few days. Now everyone knew that Toby would go to the stable at nearby Lilliland Castle for food and warmth.

The Baron was asked what to do about Toby. Lady Angela was asked if she had any suggestions. She said just to make sure that there was plenty of food for him at the stable and that no one should bother him at the stable or the grave sight.

Lady Angela was impressed that Toby was so devoted to its master. But she did wonder just how long this grieving period would last. Would it be for weeks or months, she wondered?

Lady Angela just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that the Baron wanted everything to go on as usual and not to interfere with Toby’s comings and goings.

Professor Hamblin, when asked about Toby, didn’t have much to say on the subject except to note, “Among humans a grieving period usually lasts a year. When the grieving period is interfered with, it usually makes things more difficult. When well-wishing people say to stop grieving and get on with your life, that does more harm. So with Toby, let him grieve as long as he wishes.”