DEAF Letty Hust His was a secure, quiet world, a lonely world in which he alone reigned king. Hollow-mouthed creatures gaped at him, and he shut out their non- sensical prate merely by closing his eyes. At the moment his head ached. As he walk down the hard, cement stairs to the subway, the ache became a roar, and as the steel doors of the subway slid quickly together, the roar and the pain became simultaneous. Eric walked aimlessly, hoping to rid his brain of the dull blasts he had somehow come to associate with the street traffic. Deeply confused, he approached the traffic policeman with a frantically scribbled note asking for directions. All eternity and the world came to an end as the policeman said, "What's the matter with you buddy? From out of town?" Eric had tried many times before to imagine what this moment would be like; it was worse than he had ever dreamed. Sickened, he realized that he was one of them now, one of those hollow-mouthed creatures who cocked their heads to a bird in a tree, or who spent hours wasting their time in front of a radio. At home he grimaced as he pulled open the seldom-used drawer. One more pain and his frightening, new world would be no more. The muzzle was cold against his ear. 6 CATS Janet Hurst Rog crouched on the cement floor of the garage and looked down at the fluffy balls of fur that lay cuddled together in the battered box. He reached out his hands and gently picked up one of the sleeping kittens. He held it close to his face, and its long soft fur tickled his nose and made him sneeze. He pressed it close against his tee shirt, and he could feel it purring softly. It made him think of the time he had leaned against his mother's automatic washer when it was going. Just then Rog heard his mother call him from the back porch. "Roger," she called, "where are you?" "Out in the garage," he yelled, as he ruffled the kitten's fur with his fingers. "What are you doing?" she asked. Rog did not answer her. He saw her walking toward the garage. Her printed housedress hung from her slender body, and her auburn hair looked almost fiery in the sunlight. When she was in the garage, he watched her eyes blink to get used to the dim light. Then she saw him and said, "Roger, are you bothering those cats again?" "I'm not bothering them," he muttered. "Well, it seems funny to me," his mother said, "that a big boy in the sixth grade can't find anything better to do than to play around with cats all day. Listen, Roger. You'll just have to get rid of those cats. I don't care how you do it. Just do it." 7