第一章 雨夜

It rained all day.

Xiaohuang was a cat, a cat that had not yet grown up.

He walked on the street. The ground was covered with water.

Cars drove past him, and water splashed onto him. He was wet all over.

Xiaohuang pressed against the wall and walked with difficulty. When the wind blew, he felt even colder.

During the day he had rummaged through two trash cans, but they were full of water and there was nothing to eat.

He had a box, under a tree.

But the box had been blown over by the wind, and it was full of water inside.

The place where he was going to sleep tonight was gone too.

Xiaohuang was very hungry; he had not eaten anything all day.

There was a smell in the wind, warm, with a hint of meat.

Xiaohuang sniffed and followed the smell.

The smell came from a door. A light was on inside, and the ground at the doorway was dry.

Xiaohuang stood in the grass, looking inside the door.

Someone was busy inside; near the door it was quieter.

Slowly, he came to the doorway and stood on a dry patch.

After a while, the door opened and a person came out.

Xiaohuang stood up and was about to run.

The person bent down. His hands were large and reached over slowly.

In his hand was half a steamed bun, still hot.

'Eat it,' the person said, his voice very soft.

Xiaohuang took a step back. The person did not move.

Xiaohuang came back again. He picked up the bun with his mouth, ran back into the grass, and ate quickly.

The bun was hot. After eating, his belly was warm too.

The person stood up, walked back inside, and did not close the door. The light shone on the ground at the doorway.

Xiaohuang licked his lips and walked back to the dry place at the doorway.

He stood there for a while, then lay down at the doorway.

The rain was still falling.

On the third floor, a window lit up, and after a while, the light went out.

Xiaohuang glanced at it and closed his eyes.

He was going to sleep here tonight.