A fat woman was standing in the doorway with a broom-stick in her right hand

I OPENED MY EYES and blinked.  Shafts of sunlight from the morning sun flooded the alley which had been my sleeping quarters for the past few nights.  Unlike most of my furry relatives,  I slept when the moon was making its sivery appearance in the sky.  At this time, when the hustle  and bustle was going on,  I was just in the middle of a yawn, and was stretching myself from nose to tail.  My snow-white body, bathed in the golden light, shone despite its dirty state.  I gave my whiskers (which were my pride and joy) a few licks before I went in search of my breakfast.

    Not far away was a collection of dustbins where I could often find a few scraps to satisfy my hunger.  When I reached the place,  I found the place deserted except for a few flies hovering above the rubbish dump.  In a matter of a few minutes, I had managed to procure a tin  half-filled with sardines. It was a lucky find but before i could begin eating, I sensed a dark shape approaching.

    I turned round sharply and came  face to face with another stray cat,  the largest one I had ever seen!  He hissed vehemently and after exchanging several words in cat language, I realised that he wanted the sardines for himself. Althought I was small compared to this giant of a cat, I was not born a coward, so I stood my ground obstinately. Disregarding the fact that I was one of his kin, my opponent eyed me menacingly and arched his back, ready to attack. However, I soon discovered that for all his size, he was a coward a heart. At the sound of approaching barks, his face changed colour and when a huge, black dog was sighted at closed range, he shot off like a bullet.

    In the meantime, I was fully aware that I was facing yet another danger. The dog was advancing cautiously towards me, and its face was wearing a half-chiling, half-comical frown. All I could do was to sit still like a waxwork dummy without even twitching my whiskers. Suddenly, a shrill whistle rose in the air, followed by a commanding shout: "Wolf, come here!" The dog backed a few steps, hesitated, but at another call from his master, he turned round and hurried out of sight. This seemed to be my lucky day and I wondered at my second stroke of good luck as I resumed eating my breakfast.

    I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the crowded streets. I nearly met with an accident while crossing the road. I was befriended by a couple of kick from a man for playing around his ankles. I chased birds whenever posibble for I found pleasure in watching them flutter their wings. In short, I had spent a perfectly normal afternoon.

    That evening, my dinner presented a problem. A rummage throught the bins revealed nothing to appease my hunger. As I was racking my brains, a rich aroma floated to my sensitive nostrils. I followed it and soon came upon an open window. A peep inside showed a plate of fried "ikan kembung". At this stage, my mind was a mixture of conscience and temptation. Finally, the latter won, and I was up on the ledge and jumping onto the table that held my bite, an angry scream made me look up in fright. A fat woman was standing in the doorway with a broom-stick in her right hand. I was stunned to find myself at her mercy and tried to escape. Unfortunately, before I leapt out of the window, a hard thump on my tail sent me howling with pain. I was not so luckly the third time, though!

    I tossed and turned for could not sleep that night. I decided to count the stars. The sight of those twinkling dots of light scattered here and there enchanted me. Before I had reached the count of twenty, my eyes were already getting drowsy. At the back of my mind, I had formed a picture  of a  little girls, cuddling and stroking my silken fur with love and kindness shown on her face. I looked at the stars again and prayed wholeheartedly that my wish would be fulfilled.

    "Please let it come true........." I purred softly, before entering another world.