Page 15 - English Expedition Class 2

Now, all the students worked hard at their writing except Joji. With his brush and
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rice paper , he did nothing for hours but draw and what Joji drew was just one thing.
Cats.
Cats, cats and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats.

‘Joji,’ the priest told him, ‘you must stop drawing all those cats! How will you ever
be a priest?’
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‘I’m sorry, honourable sir. I’ll try to stop.’
He did try. But whenever Joji saw one of the temple cats go by, he forgot about his

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writing and drew another cat. Then Joji started drawing on the folding screens in the
temple. Soon, there were cats on all the rice-paper panels. They were everywhere!
‘Joji, you’ll never make a priest,’ one day the priest told him sadly. ‘You’ll just have
to go home.’

Joji went to his room and packed his things. But he was afraid to go home. He knew
his father would be angry. Then he remembered another temple in a village nearby.
‘Maybe I can stay with the priest there,’ he thought.
So Joji began walking. It was already night when he got to the other village.

He climbed the steps to the temple and knocked. There was no answer. He opened
the heavy door. It was dark inside.
‘That’s strange,’ said Joji. ‘Why isn’t anyone here?’
He lit a lamp by the door. Then he saw something that made him clap with joy. All

around the big room were folding screens with empty rice-paper panels. Joji took out
his writing box and made some ink. Then he dipped in his brush and started to draw.
Again, what Joji drew was just one thing.
Cats.

Cats, cats and more cats. Small cats, big cats, thin cats, fat cats.
The screen he drew on last was almost as long as the room. Joji covered it with one
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gigantic cat – the biggest and most beautiful cat he had ever drawn. Now, Joji was
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tired. He lay down, but something about the big room bothered him.
‘I’ll find a smaller place,’ he thought.
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He found a cosy closet and settled inside. Then he slid shut the panel door and
went to sleep. But late that night, Joji awoke in fright.
Grrrrrrrrrrr. He heard a sound.

It sounded like a large, fierce animal. Joji realized why there was no one in the
temple. He wished he wasn’t there either. He heard the monster sniff around the big

3 rice paper: smooth, thin paper made of tree fi bres used 6 gigantic: huge
for origami, writing and making screens 7 bothered: (here) troubled
4 honourable: deserving respect 8 cosy: comfortable
5 folding screen: a piece of free-standing furniture used as
a room divider
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