Von Kindern und Katzen, und wie sie die Nine begruben

The narrator recalls a series of domestic vignettes centered on household cats and the children's interactions with them. He describes the arrival and personalities of several cats, including a gray Manschettenmieße, her offspring such as a fierce black tom and a white kitten called the white bear, and how war and displacement interrupted their home life. Playful scenes show children riding a nanny and a kitten in a human pyramid, the death of a favored kitten from exposure, improvised paper-and-ink cats and a constructed toy Hotel zur schwarzen Anna where a dignified gray cat presides, and a ceremonious burial when an elderly cat dies. The tone mixes fondness, humor, and small domestic pathos.