I've come across monkeys as
could give points to one or two lubbers I've sailed under; and elephants
is pretty spry, if you can believe all that's told of 'em. I've heard
some tall tales about elephants. And, of course, dogs has their heads
screwed on all right: I don't say as they ain't. But what I do say is:
that for straightfor'ard, level-headed reasoning, give me cats. You see,
sir, a dog, he thinks a powerful deal of a man--never was such a cute
thing as a man, in a dog's opinion; and he takes good care that everybody
knows it. Naturally enough, we says a dog is the most intellectual
animal there is. Now a cat, she's got her own opinion about human
beings. She don't say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious
not to hear the whole of it. The consequence is, we says a cat's got no
intelligence. That's where we let our prejudice steer our judgment
wrong. In a matter of plain common sense, there ain't a cat living as
couldn't take the lee side of a dog and fly round him. Now, have you
ever noticed a dog at the end of a chain, trying to kill a cat as is
sitting washing her face three-quarters of an inch out of his reach? Of
course you have. Well, who's got the sense out of those two? The cat
knows that it ain't in the nature of steel chains to stretch.
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