For the people of Ulthar were simple, and knew not whence it is all cats first came. When through some unavoidable oversight a cat was missed, and sounds heard after dark, the loser would lament impotently or console himself by thanking Fate that it was not one of his children who had thus vanished. In truth, much as the owners of cats hated these odd folk, they feared them more and instead of berating them as brutal assassins, merely took care that no cherished pet or mouser should stray toward the remote hovel under the dark trees. But the villagers did not discuss such things with the old man and his wife because of the habitual expression on the withered faces of the two, and because their cottage was so small and so darkly hidden under spreading oaks at the back of a neglected yard. But whatever the reason, this old man and woman took pleasure in trapping and slaying every cat which came near to their hovel and from some of the sounds heard after dark, many villagers fancied that the manner of slaying was exceedingly peculiar. 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. Shortly after a caravan of strange wanders arrives to town, the kitten of an orphan boy goes missing. But before the burgesses forbade the killing of cats, there dwelt an old cotter and his wife who delighted to trap and slay them. 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 neighbors. Overview It is said in Ulthar that no man may kill a cat.
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