Cat Matrena and the Goat. How the Goat Got Revenge on the Cat
From the Lives of Cats
The incident I want to tell you about happened about ten years ago. However, I still remember it with warmth and surprise. I had a cat named Matrena. There were no other pets.
And then I was given a milking goat, but she was stubborn and old. I couldn’t handle her. Every morning I would take her out to the field and tie her up by the irrigation ditch where the grass was lush.
But every time I led her, she seemed to test my strength, either pushing forward or refusing to move. Then I noticed that Matrena was watching us closely.
Soon she started helping me deal with the stubborn goat. If the goat pulled too hard, Matrena would run ahead and hiss. If the goat refused to move, the cat would gently touch her leg. The little goat had to obey my helpful assistant, and I was very grateful to her for that.
But then one day something happened that I never expected. The three of us were walking along a narrow path by the irrigation ditch. The cat was walking ahead importantly, occasionally glancing back at us. Behind her was the little goat that I was leading on a leash.
Suddenly, the goat lunged forward and, hitting the cat with her head, pushed her into the water-filled ditch. And then she broke free from my grip and ran away. I looked around in confusion, first at the cat, who shook herself off and crawled out of the deep ditch, then at the goat, who approached a bush, ate and looked at us…
Of course, the three of us had our own perspective on what had just happened.