In the morning, I woke and stretched. Then I remembered where I was and looked around. It was dark and cold in the small cottage. The woman needed to get up and relight the fire. I got out from under her shelf and hopped up onto her bed. I walked over to her face. I sniffed her to make sure she hadn’t died in the night. She still smelled fresh, so I batted at her head, just above her eyes until they opened.

“Aaah!” the woman yelled jerking back and nearly falling off her bed. “For pity’s sake! Don’t frighten me!”

I just sat and cocked my head. It was time to warm the cottage and get breakfast. She stared at me.

“Fine! But you are awfully spoiled for an alley cat!” she declared. I didn’t know what she meant by that. I could still smell the delicious food in the lidded pot. She pushed the covers off of herself and pulled on a knit robe that went down nearly to her ankles. She slipped her feet into some fur lined boots and started tending to the fire.

I wasn’t at all sure about what she would do. She seemed unpredictable, so I decided to stay out of sight, just in case she came at me with a broom. She had several brooms a the corner of the cottage which I hadn’t seen in the dark last night. More than one woman in the village had chased me with one of those and I didn’t want to go through that again. As I watched, she relit the fire and opened the cauldron lid.

“Looks like we have plenty here for breakfast. I’ll just reheat it for us, Cat,” she turned to look for me and didn’t see me. “Cat?”

She was looking all around. I squinted my eyes to prevent them shining and giving myself away. She pushed the big black pot so it was back over the fire that was just starting to catch. She pulled the heavy drape from over the window, letting much more light spill into the cottage. I had found a small place in darkness under her bed, so she still couldn’t find me. Soon, the delicious smell of warm food started to fill the small space.

The woman stopped and stood motionless for a moment, muttering to herself. Then, she turned, almost swayed and stopped until she faced me. She opened her eyes, looked closely in my direction. When she stooped low, she finally saw me.

“Well, I guess I know you’re name now. You’re Shadow. Welcome to my home. I’m Griselda. You still want breakfast?” she asked.

I meowed at her and stepped out from my hiding spot. Before I knew what she was doing, she reached down and picked me up. I had never been held by a human before. I thought I wouldn’t like it, but she had placed a supportive hand under my hind quarters and with her other hand, she started scratching my head and ears in a pleasant way. Soon, I heard a rumbling coming from my chest which seemed to please her. Her bosom was soft and warm and I was reminded briefly of being huddled next to my mother.

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“You are a very beautiful cat. The same color as my hair. We make a good match, you and I. We are going to be a great team,” she set me down on her table. I wondered about my bad luck and meowed at her eager for the hot food again. She turned to me with a slight smile on her lips.

“Don’t worry about bad luck, Shadow. We are made of the same stuff, you and I. Black is my color! We will make our own luck, eh?” Then, she uncovered a large bird cage. A very ruffled looking raven sat in it and stared at me with a beady eye opening their beak as they cocked their head at me. I wondered what they would taste like. ((Note to Leah: help me keep the gender correct on Leonore))

“Now, now. No eating Leonore. There are plenty of animals for you to eat outside. Those inside the cottage are for me, okay? Not for you!” she said pointing a finger in my direction. I was still staring at the black bird.

She pulled the cover off another bird cage and this one was filled with colorful finches. As soon as the cover came off, they were chirping and flitting about the cage. Watching them made my mouth water.

“Not for you!” she repeated, but I still watched the little things flutter about. I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand the chatter from their cage.

“Oh, don’t worry. They’ll settle down once you stop drooling over them,” Griselda informed me.

“You mustn’t eat Reggie either.” She pointed up to the third shelf. Now I could see a snake with diamond pattern on it in the glass case. It did not move, but I knew it was alive by its smell. “Anyway, he’s venomous, so best leave him be. You could probably kill him, but it would be a risk. That’s why I need him. Actually, if you could bring me a little mouse or something for him, that would be lovely. After you’ve eaten? Be a dear.”

She ladled more of the delicious food into two clean bowls for us and I thought better about eating the caged animals. No sport in it anyway. I ate the food no worse for sitting out overnight. When I finished, I watched the woman. What kind of human was this who lived alone out in the woods? What did she do out here? The woman chuckled.

“So many questions, Shadow. Don’t worry. We will get to them. Now, do find me something for Reggie while I clean up. Then I’ll show you the garden and the forest, okay?”

I sniffed sadly at the empty bowl wishing there was more food.

“I'll make more for us! Now that I know what sort of animal you are it will taste even better, okay? I promise!” she exclaimed. That was enticing. Better than the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten would be something. I supposed catching a mouse would be a very small price.

She put the bowls into the bucket and went over to the door and pulled it open.

“Do you want to go out the door or the window?” she asked, grinning widely. I dashed out the door in front of her and circled around back. I thought I would easily be able to find that mouse from last night after I’d chased it out of her cottage. It would not have had much time to find a deep burrow to hide in, after all.