Delilah

This is the story of Delilah the cat. Delilah did not belong to me, she belonged to an artist named Francine Ditton who grew up on a boat that sailed the stormy seas. Delilah didn’t have much fear, and would land in the water when she jumped for a bird or a flying fish or a giant moth off the coast of the Bahamas. They worried about Delilah, because it’s bad enough if a person falls overboard: in the swells it’s hard to see a human head. But a cat? A cat in the water is gone forever, especially at night. One night, they encountered a terrible storm. Waves were crashing three feet over the deck. They anchored with the bow facing into the wind, but then there was nothing to do but go below and wait for it to pass. That’s when they realized Delilah was missing. They ran up on deck to find her, braving the waves crashing over the boat, trying to save the poor cat’s life, but they couldn’t find her… until she came trotting back from the bow with a fish in her mouth. This is a true story, and I honor Delilah, the fearless, the huntress, the seafaring cat.

1. Cat

2. Cat

3. Fish