(796) Fat of the Land

One Christmas I visited my college mate's grand parents. They were living near a lake in the southern part of the United States. When they were young, they used to live in West Virginia. Mr. Ellison was from a poor family. He worked hard and was enterprising. At age forty he made enough money to retire to a community that he could fish year round.

Mrs Ellison was a very hard-working homemaker. Her motto in life is: cleanliness is next to Godliness. I saw her ceaselessly cleaning her house. There was a much loved pet in this household. Her name was Sheba. She was nineteen years old when I met her. Applying the one cat year is equivalent to seven human years, she was a ripe old cat. It was very interesting watching the dynamics of the three members of the family. The only time Sheba paid any attention to Mr Ellison was when he came back with his catch. She would linger around, looking at him gutting the fish; rubbing against his legs. After she ate her fresh fillet of salmon, she would retire to the den. She would jump onto Mr Ellison's favourite chair near the fire place. She would act as if she was the queen of the realm until the master of the house shoo her away. Then she would jumped up to the corner bookshelf and deliberately sat with her back facing the man who took her seat.

As soon as Mrs Ellison came into the den, she would jump straight into her lap. In front of her mistress, she was an extremely well behaved cat. No wonder Mrs Ellison would not believe any complaints made by her husband against her darling. In a household of great economy, Sheba was surrounded by luxury. She was given the best medical care that money could buy. Every day she would be given freshly caught fish. At night she shared her mistress' bed. She was really one fortunate creature.

- ... and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land. -

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