The Actress

The final test for the actress was when they cast her

in a scene with an unannounced jaguar, scattering

deer bones behind the couch. When she walked in,

flustered, tugging at one glove, leaving the screen

and for a moment she seemed to lose her line, but

she soon brightened and said, I’ve just had the most

remarkable experience, coming home from the shops.

Then the cat yowled: it was oddly like a crying child.

The actress reached into her clutch and withdrew

a small revolver. That seems like a pretty hungry

pussy, she murmured coolly, and everybody roared.