more about australian mick

vintage spot PD

More fond thoughts from Australian pioneer Robert Barton on the "wonderful cat" he found as a tiny feral kitten deposited on his cabin's bed. . .

There was one thing about Mick, she never interfered with any of my bird pets; no matter what bird I brought home I could let it go in the garden, and she would not touch it. When feeding the birds every morning she used to come out and stand alongside of me; of course, I gave her a bit, too, but the birds were far quicker at catching it than she was. When I happened to catch any mice in the trap I used to take them out on to the lawn, cats and birds all round, and shake them out of the trap. Mick, of course, made a dart, but the jackass* (who was sitting on the roof five times as far away from the mouse as she was) invariably got it first, and Mick used to gaze in astonishment at the vacant space where the mouse had been.

*Another term for the kookaburra bird - curator
Barton, Robert D., 1842-. Reminiscences of an Australian Pioneer. Sydney [N.S.W.]: Tyrrell, 1917. 136-137.