Linsa was young, and she was beautiful, and she was rich. Naturally, everyone in the village wanted to marry her. To fend off the onslaught of suitors, she put a ring in a locked box, and the key she hung from the collar of her cat, Sweet Button. "Whosoever shall catch the cat shall have the key to my heart," said Linsa, "and shall wed me with that ring."

Many tried, but Sweet Button was both swift and canny. When they snuck up on where she sunned on a roof, she leapt down faster than they could follow. When they surprised her in the street, she ran through a fence and left them behind. The one who came closest got a claw across the face for his trouble.

Miriam did not chase the cat, she sat near her. She did not sneak up on the cat, she relaxed in the cat's favorite spots and let the cat come to her. In time they became friends, and soon they were inseparable.

Linsa waited, and waited, and one day said, "You have the key to my heart! Why not bring me the ring?"

"Why should I?" said Miriam. "I have the cat."