The young woman told her that the cat went away the same day that it
came, and she had supposed it had gone home. The old woman said it had
not, and that nothing could compensate her for the loss of it, for she
had reared it herself; that there was never before seen such a cat for
catching mice; that a cat, spotted as that one was, was seldom found;
and that it was of the rare breed which gave rise to the common
saying:
"A coal-black cat, with snowy loins,
Is worth its weight in silver coins."
and that the weight of her cat was two hundred ounces.
The young woman was greatly surprised by this estimate of the value of
the lost cat, and went to her father-in-law and related all that had
occurred. The father-in-law, knowing the character of the old woman,
could neither eat nor sleep, so harassed was he by the expectation
that she would worry his daughter-in-law till the two hundred ounces
of silver should be paid. The young woman, being a new-comer, thought
but lightly of the matter, till the old woman came again and again to
make mention of the cat. When it became apparent that she must defend
herself, the young woman asked her father-in-law if he had ever lent
anything to the old woman; and when he said he could not remember
having lent anything, she begged him to think carefully, and see if
he could not recall the loan of a tool, a dish, or a fagot.
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