Tobermory Page #3

"Tobermory," a short story by Hector Hugh Munro (pen name Saki), is a satirical tale that explores themes of communication and the nature of society. Set in a rural English household, the story revolves around an educated cat named Tobermory who unexpectedly gains the ability to speak. His newfound voice exposes the hidden truths and hypocrisies of the people around him, leading to chaos and revealing the absurdity of human pretenses. The narrative blends humor with social commentary, showcasing Saki's sharp wit and keen observations on human behavior.

• Short story

								

attention was fixed on the doorway.  A plateful of carefully dosed fish
scraps was in readiness on the sideboard, but sweets and savoury and
dessert went their way, and no Tobermory appeared either in the
dining-room or kitchen.

The sepulchral dinner was cheerful compared with the subsequent vigil
in the smoking-room.  Eating and drinking had at least supplied a
distraction and cloak to the prevailing embarrassment. Bridge was out
of the question in the general tension of nerves and tempers, and after
Odo Finsberry had given a lugubrious rendering of "Melisande in the
Wood" to a frigid audience, music was tacitly avoided.  At eleven the
servants went to bed, announcing that the small window in the pantry
had been left open as usual for Tobermory's private use.  The guests
read steadily through the current batch of magazines, and fell back
gradually, on the "Badminton Library" and bound volumes of PUNCH.  Lady
Blemley made periodic visits to the pantry, returning each time with an
expression of listless depression which forestalled questioning.

At two o'clock Clovis broke the dominating silence.

"He won't turn up to-night.  He's probably in the local newspaper
office at the present moment, dictating the first instalment of his
reminiscences.  Lady What's-her-name's book won't be in it. It will be
the event of the day."

Having made this contribution to the general cheerfulness, Clovis went
to bed.  At long intervals the various members of the house-party
followed his example.

The servants taking round the early tea made a uniform announcement in
reply to a uniform question.  Tobermory had not returned.

Breakfast was, if anything, a more unpleasant function than dinner had
been, but before its conclusion the situation was relieved. Tobermory's
corpse was brought in from the shrubbery, where a gardener had just
discovered it.  From the bites on his throat and the yellow fur which
coated his claws it was evident that he had fallen in unequal combat
with the big Tom from the Rectory.

By midday most of the guests had quitted the Towers, and after lunch
Lady Blemley had sufficiently recovered her spirits to write an
extremely nasty letter to the Rectory about the loss of her valuable
pet.

Tobermory had been Appin's one successful pupil, and he was destined to
have no successor.  A few weeks later an elephant in the Dresden
Zoological Garden, which had shown no previous signs of irritability,
broke loose and killed an Englishman who had apparently been teasing
it.  The victim's name was variously reported in the papers as Oppin
and Eppelin, but his front name was faithfully rendered Cornelius.

"If he was trying German irregular verbs on the poor beast," said
Clovis, "he deserved all he got."
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