One foggy day in October, a man is killing some time by walking through an area of his city that he has never noticed before.  Down a dimlylit alleyway he notices a curious little shop selling antiques.

After a moments reflection he walks into the shop, and starts examining the many weird and wonderful items. Looking around, he notices a life-sized bronze sculpture of a cat in a dark corner.

The sculpture is so intriguing, he decides he must buy it and asks the shopkeeperthe price. "Twelve pounds for the cat, sir," the shopkeeper tells him, "and 100 pounds for the story that goes with it."  "I'll take the cat," says the man, "but you can keep the story."

The transaction completed, the man leaves the store with the bronze cat under his arm. As he crosses the street in front of the store, two cats emerge from an alley and fall into step behind him. Nervously looking over his shoulder, he begins to walk faster, but every time he passes another alley, more cats come out and follow him.

By the time he's walked two streets, at least a hundred cats are at his heels, and people are beginning to point and shout. He walks even faster, and soon breaks into a trot as multitudes of cats swarm from alleys, basements, and abandoned cars. Thousands of cats are now at his heels, and as he sees the river at the bottom of the hill, he panics and starts to run full pelt.

No matter how fast he runs, the cats keep up, hissing insanely, now not just thousands, but millions. He looks up and sees that he is running towards the edge of the river, and the trail of cats is now several hundred yards long behind him.

Making a mighty leap, he jumps onto a lamp post, grasping it with one arm while he hurls the bronze cat into the river.  Clinging to the lamp post, he watches in amazement as the seething tide of cats surges over the banks into the river, where they drown.

Amazed and almost dumbstruck, he makes his way back to the antique shop. "Ah, so you've come back for the story," says the shopkeeper.  "No," says the man, "I was wondering if you have a bronze Rangers fan."

Cait Coyle