The Mind Creative
It is said that in Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, no man
may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him
who sitteth purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close
to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique
Aegyptus, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Meroë and
Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets
of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he
speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and
remembers that which she hath forgotten.
In Ulthar, before ever the burgesses forbade the killing of cats,
there dwelt an old cotter and his wife who delighted to trap and
slay the cats of their neighbours. Why they did this I know not;
save that many hate the voice of the cat in the night, and take it
ill that cats should run stealthily about yards and gardens at
twilight. But