When Augie’s feline friend Crimcou (crem-koo) saw the Two-For-One promotion for Ghost Girl, she thought it meant she’d read Ghost Girl with Augie.
“Don’t be silly,” Augie scoffed. Although he’s an astute reader who knows a bargain when he sees one, it was his grandmother, Ginger Wakem, author of Promise Nothing, Tell No One, who took advantage of the promotion. Augie, nonetheless, dismissed Crimcou’s misunderstanding. “It means, Two-books-for-the-price-of one. You get your own copy to read.”
Preferring her interpretation—and because she demands human company—Crimcou flicked her tail and hopped atop the sofa to get a good cats-eye view of the book when Augie began to read. Cats, after all, see best from a distance of three to 20 feet, and have a wide peripheral vision. While these qualities boost their hunting acumen, they also make reading from the sofa back a purr-fect vantagepoint.
The title caught Crimcou’s immediate attention. Everyone knows cats see ghosts, but Bonnie, the protagonist of Ghost Girl, saw 17 ghosts! They were leading her on an immram, a spiritual journey of self-realization, with the help of a dog, two cats, and three horses.
Ignoring the dog and horses, Crimcou zeroed in on Mo, a black cat, and Willy, a gray tabby. She was impressed that Bonnie’s uncle emphasized that the family didn’t have cats, the cats had them.
“That’s how the world should turn,” she meowed.
Crimcou envies the status of felines in the many cultures that have worshipped them. In ancient Egypt, for example, cats were idolized because they protected humans against evil spirits. Wile Crimcou constantly demands adoration by kneading her humans on their chests and headbutting their lips to prompt kisses, Egyptian cats simply sat back and accepted affection.
Crimcou remembered that in Japanese culture, the Maneki-Neko brings good fortune, prosperity, and positivity into businesses and households with a beckoning gesture. Often depicted as a white ceramic feline with a waving paw, it is also known as Lucky Cat and is positioned in a place of honor at many Asian restaurants and stores.
Sailors, meanwhile, sought different kinds of feline protection. Besides keeping rodents under control, seafaring cats allegedly ensured a safe voyage and manipulated the weather. Using magic stored in their tails, they could start storms. If a ship’s cat fell or was thrown overboard, it would summon a terrible storm to sink the ship; if the ship survived, it would be cursed with nine years of bad luck.
And in Celtic lore, known as cat-sìth, were fearsome, independent, intuitive, and intelligent creatures who could communicate with humans, foretell the future, and predict the weather. They were also gatekeepers to the Otherworld.
Crimcou suspected that last role had something to do with the cats accompanying Bonnie on her trip into a ghost-dwellling attic. But Augie hadn’t gotten that far.
“Hurry up,” his feline friend chirruped. On other occasions, Crimcou might slow-blink herself into patience or purr herself into a catnap. But today was not one of those days. She wanted to know more about the ghosts in the attic. “Turn the page!”
“I got two for the price of one,” Augie said, barely looking up from Ghost Girl. “If you’re in such a hurry, go get your own book.”
***
Good advice, reader. Get your own two-fer deal at Patti M. Walsh’s store.
Use code GG-2025 as a coupon at checkout.
Order 1, enter the code, and you will get 1 free.
Offer good while supplies last.
What the Cats Are Reading 
Interesting information about Auggie and Cats. Thanks for sharing.
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