M isha was a very good artist but a very poor man He lived by himself in a tiny cottage outside the village of Grodno Few people in Grodno had enough money to buy his paintings so Misha made do with very little He lived on the few potatoes he grew in his yard and the milk he got from his old cow Klara
One winter night when the winds howled and the snow blew around the windows a little cat wandered into Misha’s barn She made her way to the stall where Klara was sleeping and curled up beside the old cow for warmth Klara didn’t mind having a visitor and she gave her approval with a low moo
In the morning when Misha came to milk Klara he saw the cat huddled in a corner of the stall so weak she could hardly walk My my what have we here Misha said to the cat Where did you come from
The cat looked up at him with her emerald green eyes She seemed to sense that Misha was a kind man You’re so thin Misha said in a soothing voice Poor old Klara doesn’t have much milk to give but we can share
