Cat and Mouse

by Ralph Williams

Ed Brown and Old Tom, his cat, are headed back to their Alaskan cabin. All is as it has been, until a hole into another other world opens up just outside Ed's cabin. Ed had never seen a hole into another world. Who has? What lies on the other side of the hole in the new world?

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Dystopia

Audible Audio

First published June 1, 1959

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the November 2020 short story for the Evolution of SF short story read. Invasive pest control in ecosystems is a hot topic today. In the past decade, I've lost about 20% of the trees in my small woods to an invasive pest. The Emerald Ash Borer has killed every mature ash tree, so this is a subject near & dear to me. Williams answer to a similar problem is well done, too. You can find the discussion topic here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Wrong edition. This story is available for free in multiple formats on Gutenberg.org here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24392
Librivox has 2 versions in their SF Short Story collections. They can be downloaded or listened to online here:
https://librivox.org/short-science-fi...
https://librivox.org/short-science-fi...

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story SF from 1959. I read is as a part of monthly reading for November 2020 at The Evolution of Science Fiction group.

One far away planet is infested with some kind of pest and there is a portal to this world opened near a cottage of old guy in Alaska. So he now should understand what happens and contest the pest.

While a nice adventure the story lacks unexpected twists, it can be a story of a person fighting rat infestation with relatively minor changes

[Chris Aldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of LibriVox Short Science Fiction Collection 048. Cat and Mouse was about an Old Alaskan trapper who faces up to mysterious door into another world. Great creatures emerge and create a dilemma for the old codger as he tries to improve his chances of surviving another winter.

Sadly I have to disagree with a reviewer who states it’s “suitable for Christians” as it has no sex or immortality. IMHO Sf is definitely not suitable for any God Squad as there are no stupid rules, best SF is highly imaginative and abhors the censorship of ideas. So you would probably be better off burning it all -together with all literature in general , so you can concentrate properly on whichever Book of mumbo jumbo you believe contains the turds of your particular God or Spirits or Demons. Then you can track me down and burn me and bomb my whole country for disagreeing with you. Better hurry though, I’m 61 already..

Sorry for the rant gentle readers but seeing that comment on a Goodreads review shocked me into noticing the real world - I read to escape that depressing mess.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a collection of mostly disappointing short sci fi stories from Librivox, this was the standout story. There were some great elements: a fantastic monster, a likeable main character, a strange alien world, a handy metaphor in the form of a cat, and pioneer life in Alaska. Bringing all these elements together was quite a feat for the author, and I would have given the story 3 1/2 stars if I could.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️Published in Astounding Science Fiction June 1959 Vol. LXIII No. 4 .
🖊 My review: This is an excellent story with just enough tension to keep my interest.
🔲 Excerpts of note:

🔸The Harn first came to the Warden's attention through its effect on the game population of an area in World 7 of the Warden's sector.

🔸The hole into the other world stayed there, as unobtrusively fixed as if it had been there since the beginning of time. Nothing came through, and nothing moved in the other world but leaves stirring now and then with a breeze, clouds drifting across the sky.

🔸Unhesitatingly, he drew the razor edge of the hatchet across it, sucked and spat, sucked and spat again and again. Then he started for home. He barely made it. By the time he got to the hole, he was a very sick man.

🔸Ed heard a coughing grunt behind him and spun around to see something new crawling out of the flame and smoke at the den entrance. This one was a roughly carrier shaped creature, but half again as large, built for killing.

🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 E-book format found here on : Project Gutenberg .
🚀●▬●💫●💫●▬●🚀

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story to read, it held my attention all the way through. I guess the portal to another time/ dimension is a common device in SF stories.

Much is left unexplained though, what was the real appearance of The Warden? Why could The Warden not handle the situation? Was Old Tom just a spectator?

Much is left to your imagination, but perhaps that is best ...

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful entry from scifi's Golden Age, this time with a backwoodsman portaled to a world with a particular non-native pest needing extermination. Entertaining and worth reading, and especially so when one remembers it was written when America needed to know good ol' fashioned Yankee (expect in this case, Alaskan) know-how can take on anything and come out on top.
Yeah.

[Timothy Morrison]

Does anyone else think that this book is just so other worldly? Does anyone else feel that the hero uses too much video game logic here?

[Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice Science Fiction story

[Nissa Annakindt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat and Mouse is a 1959 published sci-fi short story, 11,344 words / 38 pages in length. The main character is a canny old Alaskan trapper, Ed Brown who arrives at his remote cabin for a season of work only to discover a mysterious gate into another world.

As it turns out, there is a dangerous life form on the other side of the gate. The story hinges on the conflict between this deadly life form and Ed. Ed does not know it, but the guardian of the world on which the dangerous life form resides has opened the gate specifically because there is something on Ed's world that can put paid to the menace.

The questions that keep us on the edge of our seat for this story are these: What is it that the guardian had in mind, and was he right that it could deal with the deadly creature?

The author of the work was a native Alaskan, so he knew his setting. This short story was nominated for a Hugo award.

Content issues: I find that not only is that is this a great adventure yarn, it is also a suitable read for Christians of all ages. There is no sinful content or ideological agenda you need to worry about if your kids want to read it.

It is available for free on ManyBooks.net in many ebook formats and can be read on your Kindle, Palm Pilot or your home computer. Download now--- resistance is futile!

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being the top of the food chain may even apply across parallel universes or god watches out for fools everywhere. I enjoyed listening to this tale. The story is told in a unhurried fashion in conversational style. There is plenty of drama.

The narrators voice is clear and easy to listen to.
The recording quality is excellent (no background noises)and it has plenty of volume. The editing is is professional and seamless.

[Scott Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1960 and features the story of a hunter who encounters a portal to another world and is confronted with the reality of hunting the hunter. It is the kind of story that gets repeated, much more tragically in several science fiction stories much later. The main character is funny with his approach to the problem.

[Manifest Stefany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, aren't American survivalists just the very bestest?

[Effi White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellant, low key story written by a master storyteller. Straight forward science fiction without the massive electronic machinary that sometimes hides poorly written prose.

[Emmalyn Renato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novelette was nominated for the Hugo award in 1960. An Alaskan trapper discovers a portal to another world and has to deal with an alien pest infestation.