The Cat Who Crosses Your Path

Aunt Bramble
Wyrdlore Society

Tonight the lanterns are lit along the lane, the leaves are all down, and I want to tell you about a small black cat who crosses the road exactly when she pleases.

People have watched for her for a very long time. In England, if she crossed in front of you, old folk would say, careful now, your luck might turn. But walk a little further, over the sea to parts of Germany, and the very same cat crossing the very same road from the other side was a sign that something good was coming your way. In Scotland, some said a strange black cat arriving on your doorstep meant prosperity was on its way in. So you see, nobody could quite agree on her.

Sailors' wives in old fishing villages kept black cats in the house on purpose, to keep their husbands safe at sea. Some sailors would not sail without one aboard the ship either. So the very cat other folk crossed the street to avoid was the most welcome guest in a sailor's cottage.

I think what people were really doing, watching that cat, was looking for a sign. A little black shape slipping between the hedges, there and gone, and everybody wanting to know, is this luck or is this trouble. The cat never explained herself. She simply went on her way, tail up, unbothered by all the fuss, the way cats do.

Tonight, if you listen, you might hear her soft feet on the cobbles outside, going about her business under the harvest moon. If she crosses your path, you need not worry one bit. Just nod to her politely, the way you would to any neighbour out late, and wish her good evening. Maybe she will stop and look at you with her bright eyes before she slips away into the dark hedge, leaving nothing behind but the shape of herself in the shadows, and a little mystery for you to carry home.

Aunt Bramble keeps the Society's stories for its smallest members. She has never been anywhere in a hurry, owns a very old coat with very deep pockets, and holds that a story does not have to be tidy to be true.

The rest of the season is gathered in Nights of the Dead.