The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin

there were no grandchildren, either. But the very, very old woman and the very, very old man didn’t mind. They were able to have nice, long, private and pleasant conversations together while drinking mint tea without lots of other people interrupting and shouting over one another, which often happens in big families. They were the loves of each other’s lives. The one absolute true love of the other’s life forever, until death do them part, and beyond.”
    â€œI thought this was a ghost tale,” Freddy says.
    â€œI’m getting to that,” I say.
    â€œOne day, a tiny white kitten leaped into their parlor from an open window. She was as white as vanilla ice cream.”
    â€œA
girl
kitten?” asks Fred.
    â€œShh. Why not?” I ask. “And please stop interrupting.” I pull on my story ear again and continue.
    â€œThis white kitten, this shy, very quiet kitten had, yes, twenty-six toes. She also had a long, long tail, curled at the tip like a question mark. At the very tip of that tail was a teeny white spot that sparkled like a diamond in the afternoon sun. In fact, it
was
a diamond, or some kind of stone that sure looked like one. The very, very old woman and the very, veryold man adopted that kitten and named her Jewel. They grew to love Jewel, even before they discovered the amazing thing about that diamond.”
    I pause dramatically. “The diamond had the power to fulfill wishes!”
    â€œWow,” says Freddy.
    â€œOne day, the very, very old man awoke with a sniffly cold, the kind that gets you sneezing and honking without stop.
    â€œâ€˜Mew?’ mewed Jewel in her quiet, shy voice.
    â€œâ€˜I wish I didn’t have this terrible cold!’ said the very, very old man, blowing his nose with a tissue. His other hand was petting Jewel, back and forth, back and forth, from her ears to her tail-tip. Then, a few hours later, his cold was gone!
    â€œAnother time, the very, very old woman wished she’d remembered to buy butter at the market for her taffy. She was famous in the neighborhood for her taffy. When she got up from petting Jewel, there was a creamy yellow lump on a plate near the sink!
    â€œAnd one day, the very, very old man wished his favorite striped cap, the only one ever to keep his earlobes warm, wasn’t lost anymore. He happened to look up, and there it was, hanging with the soup pot from a kitchen hook!
    â€œWell, the very, very old man and the very, very old womansoon connected the dots. Every time they touched the diamond on Jewel’s tail, Jewel said, ‘Mew?’ in her quiet, shy voice. And that meant, ‘What is your wish?’
    â€œBut the very, very old woman and the very, very old man weren’t greedy. They already had everything they’d ever wanted—for instance, each other, and also an adorable kitten. And they certainly didn’t want Jewel to think they loved her only for the diamond on her tail. So they only wished for improbable things, not impossible ones, which wasn’t within Jewel’s power to give, anyway. And all their improbable wishes came true.”
    â€œWhat’s ‘improbable’?” asks Freddy.
    â€œIt means maybe it will happen or maybe it won’t, and it looks like it won’t. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
    â€œAnyway, one sad day, something terrible befell them. The very, very old woman died, because—well, she was very, very old.
    â€œâ€˜Woe is me!’ cried the very, very old man.
    â€œThe very, very old man knew that he would die by and by for the same reason, and also because of his broken heart. He and his wife had known each other for ages and ages and were each other’s first and only true loves, and one couldn’t live without the other.
    â€œSo the very, very old man began to make out his will. ‘Give all my cash to a cat rescue society,’ he wrote. ‘Eleven dollars and thirty