STRANGE FRIENDS.
What do you think of that?
A bird in love with a cat.
This picture you see,
Is as true as can be;
Puss comes every day
At the risk of a fall,
To visit her friend
On the top of the wall;
For hours together
They’ll romp in this way,
Then the cat will go home,
And the bird fly away.
Funny Stories About Funny People.
Illustrations by J. G. Francis, J. C. Shepherd, F. J. Merrill, Palmer Cox, George F. Barnes and Others.
National Publishing Company: Philadelphia. Ca 1905.
Elephant's Picture Book 
I used to paint cat portraits to make money–nothing as beautiful as this! He looks like my all-time favorite cat named Biff after the sporty son in Death of a Salesman. Biff died tragically.
I get sad when anyone’s pet dies! This is a nice cat – I had one a bit like him too – a great cat!
Elephant
“A bird in love with a cat”. Sad to say that he wouldn’t last too long if he fell in love with my cat! I guess this is another take on the proverbial ‘Peaceful Kingdom’ ideal wherein ‘the lion lays down with the lamb’. We humans really do seem to want it all ways… we want to eat them but stop them from devouring each other! By the way Lorraine Feather sings a beautiful ode to this idyllic concept with her original lullaby ‘Peaceful Kingdom’, which as the title suggests deals with her memories of seeing the famous painting where lions and lambs exist side by side in perfect harmony, and the confusion of thoughts this image sows in the mind of a young girl on seeing it for the first time.
Nicely said. Yes, I have never had a cat that would pass up the opportunity to eat his bird friends!
I also don’t understand the lion and the lamb (unless it is intended as a signal not a permanent state). The lion will starve to death if it doesn’t eat someone – so how nice is that in an imaginary peaceful world?
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Elephant
Very true. I know someone who returned from an African safari not too long ago and was upset because she thought she saw a lion bring down a deer or some sort. Its mystifying.
We all want a fairy tale sometimes!
Elephant
So lovely x
Thank you!
Elephant
A terrific illustration! The cat’s fur is amazing but it’s the bird’s wing that really takes the biscuit.
This is an artful piece of art – I hope you looked at the full picture!
Elephant