Cats bring bad luck. Cats cannot be 1 . This is what I was taught when I was growing up. I hated cats.
And then I married a woman who was brought up with cats. So it was unavoidable that she would want us to 2 one. My parents-in-law lived with Maggie, a big cat that made me quite 3 . When we used to take our baby daughter to their home, I watched Maggie 4 . Whenever she went near my daughter, I ran to ensure that Maggie did not 5 her. My wife always laughed and told me Maggie wouldn't hurt our daughter.
6 from my wife to get a cat became greater after we had two more children. Under stress, I finally gave in and 7 . And then Masala came to our home. Our children loved the new " 8 ". They played with Masala and slept with her. At first, I was a bit 9 . I was not sure what would happen next. But slowly I started liking that small animal.
We were happy with life. But then, something 10 happened, and my wife got lung cancer. This terrible time was also when I came to really 11 the cat. Masala provided my wife with good 12 . She stayed by my wife's bedside around the clock. My wife fought the disease bravely but didn't 13 at last. After my wife died, Masala also 14 me during my darkest days. Her warm welcome after I came home meant a lot to me. Masala helped me 15 my prejudices（偏见）against cats. She really taught me a lesson.
