Introduction

Owing to her gift, Celesse the healer cat is a highly esteemed member in the neighbourhood. As the matron’s favourite she enjoys spending her lazy days in the warmth of the house.

But then, a mother hare storms in, asking for help. Her persistence defeats the reluctance of the healer cat, taking her through a nightly snowstorm and biting frost. In a dark forest, Celesse comes face to face with a scary surprise and is forced to gather her powers.

Once the long night and the successful trip are over, the sun comes out, warming not only the snowy forest but also the heart of the healer cat.

The Healer Cat

Celesse the cat couldn’t complain. She lounged on top of the brick oven, enjoying its after-heat, and watched as the matron was putting sweet buns into bags for freezing. Soon she would serve Celesse a full saucer of cream milk and allow her to curl up in her lap at the coffee table.

Celesse was the only indoor cat of the house and enjoyed the special attention thereby bestowed upon her. The barn cats had to settle for much humbler conditions. But Celesse wasn’t an ordinary cat; she was the healer cat, widely famed in the neighbourhood for her healing powers. Many a human and animal alike had been healed by the power of her low purring and soft paws.

At nights the master and the matron often lay down side by side on the bed, reading the day’s papers. The healer cat had the habit of accompanying them, warming the toes and ankles of both of them in turn, or curling up against the aching back of the matron. Celesse put a little more effort into caring her; after all, she was the one who gave her the best treats.

The snowstorm had lasted the entire day and as the evening drew closer, the frost was getting more severe. A miscellaneous congregation of animals from the neighbourhood had come to visit Celesse the cat. They had all gathered on the main room floor to listen to the healer cat, whom they so greatly admired and who now lay purring up on the brick oven.

This time there were the squirrel family who inhabited a large spruce in the garden, a couple of sparrows, and the house’s own watchdog, Rex. Celesse’s eyes drooped half shut and a deep purring sound resonated from her throat. They were all enjoying the peaceful evening in the dim room.

The matron was very fond of animals and didn’t mind these visits as long as every caller remembered to shake the snow off of their fur and wipe their paws clean. At times she would serve some evening snack to the visitors and place small cups filled with oat grits, grains and water on the floor by the door.

Celesse the cat gazed from between her eyelids at the animals resting down on the floor. She knew them all very well. She had, after all, lived in this same farmhouse since the day she was born. She was familiar with their ailments, too.

Rex, the old watchdog, had lost most of his strength over the years and nowadays saved his barks for the strangest callers. Even his voice had become hoarse. At times the healer cat would press her warm paw over Rex’s chest to where his loyal heart was beating at its unhurried pace. Feeling this, the dog would take a deep breath and wag his tail. Now Rex was snoring on the rag rug with his head between his paws.

The sparrows were sitting side by side on a ball of yarn, which had been forgotten on the floor. With their feathers fluffed out they dreamt of warm summer days.

The ailments of the squirrel family were also familiar to Celesse the healer cat. The squirrels had turned to her for help on many occasions.

Last summer the father squirrel had hurt his front paw. He had bruised it while hopping along the stonewall at the side of the garden. The pain had gradually subsided when the healer cat had stroked the sore spot with her silky paw on many a night.

The baby squirrels were healthy, sometimes downright too energetic. Luckily they did, however, calm down listening to the soothing purr of the cat. The mother squirrel certainly needed this to have a moment of well-earned rest from the childcare duties.

Even now the mother squirrel was in a blissful half-sleep. She had curled her long and fluffy tail around her pups. A drowsy peace prevailed in the room, until it was abruptly broken by a sharp knock on the door. Startled, the whole bunch woke up and turned to look who it was.