In most of the U.S. people are still off work as part of the four-day weekend associated with Thanksgiving. But Professor Ceiling Cat has galley proofs to correct, so the fun is over. Meanwhile, in Dobrzyn, today’s Dialogue was enigmatic, but Malgorzata explained:
Well, once upon a time Daniel Dennett wrote a text which started (I’m not quoting, but it was something like this): “At that time I thought it was a good idea”. It was about how to learn from one’s own mistakes. Now, Hili is a proud cat. She crawled under the rug because she thought it was a good idea. She got tired of lying there but was too proud to admit her mistake. So now she is looking for a pretext to get out of there with her pride intact.
So, here it is:
A: What are you doing there?Hili: I’m looking for an excuse.A: For what?Hili: For finally getting out of here.
In Polish:
Ja: Co ty tam robisz?
Hili: Szukam pretekstu.
Ja: Do czego?
Hili: Żeby już stąd wyjść.
Our late great cat, Purrl (who looked like a twin sister to Hili) used to do this too. ‘Hiding’.
Denning behavior.
A variation on this theme was for our very big (+20 lbs) cat to stuff as much of his very large body (head and front legs) under a very small rug and then pretend that he was completely hidden from sight.
He would get most irate if you pointed this out by touching the exposed hindquarters.
Baihu — and don’t ask me how — manages to turn invisible even when sitting in plain sight on a chair in the living room.
b&
To quote the inimitable Flanders and Swann, in the “Ostrich Song”,
Peek-a-boo, I can’t see you/
Evertything mud be grand/
Pook-a-bee, you can’t see me/
As long as I’ve got me ‘ead in the sand!
Which may or may not be the only “popular” song which ends with it’s protagonist being nuked.
Ostrich behavior
“It seemed like a good idea at the time” became proverbial in Australia as ‘the streaker’s defence’, referencing a 1974 case mentioned here.
Chuckle. Makes perfect sense to me… Hili is checking for dust bunnies, just in case Malgorzata missed one or two. 🙂