The Guardian Cat  Lucille White © Copyright 1998 by Lucille White

Photo by Alex Nicolopoulos on Unsplash

She was lost in a world of giant, scary things. She did not know what to do, where to go. It was really too much for the little kitten to endure but she had no choice.

Then, like a miracle, she found a place of peace of and quiet in that terrifying turmoil of a big city. Wide eyed, she looked around, finding it hard to believe to find herself in such a wonderful place.

The miracle continued. Strange people of that place were kind to her and in no time she came to trust them and accept them as friends. They even saw to it she had medical care. And she was given a name. Ruby! She liked the sound of it and especially liked her new home.

It was a magical place of trees, plants, flowers and even water canals with fish swimming in them. There were a few squirrels that she enjoyed watching. There were flitting butterflies amongst the many flowers to try and catch. There were several buildings to explore. And there were always a lot of people during the day that came to that beautiful place. They walked around respectfully and when talking, did so in low tones and Ruby soon learned they were no threat. She loved to watch them from her secret places, like the one up in the old oak tree. Most did not know they were being watched and if someone saw her they would point at her and smile but she would not come down.

Although at times when hiding in her secret places in the bushes or flower beds, she would ambush people by darting out and grabbing their ankles playfully, then running away before they could get their wits about them. One of her favorite things to do was to make the rounds with the security Rangers, being their helper and priding herself on being a guard cat.

Then on day she gave her guardians a big surprise, and most likely herself as well, when she gave birth to six kittens!

Her guardians were so delighted, they made birth announcements and for this they decided she had to have a last name and La Gata was chosen. ( La Gata is Spanish for a female cat) So for the mother it was Ruby La Gata. For the father they had Rue "Pepe" El Gato. ( They had to have some kind of name! ) It was stated the babies had been born on 2 February 1982, weighing approximately six ounces each and two of the workers were listed as "Godfathers".

Now, for the names of the babies : Susanna Angelina, Barret Butler, Gertrudes Juanita, Zanco McGregor, Bowie Crockett and Micajah Galba.

Are some of those names familiar ? They should be, not only to Texans but to people of other states for they are combinations of names of the defenders of the Alamo, and others who were there, during the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

Susanna Dickenson and her baby daughter Angelina, William Barret Travis and James Butler Bonham, Juana (Juanita) Alsbury and her sister Gertrudes Navarro, Charles Zanco and John Mc Gregor, James "Jim" Bowie and David Crockett and Micajah Autry and Galba Fuqua.

Yes, Ruby had found not only a haven, but a home and lots of love at the Alamo from The Daughters of The Republic of Texas and the security Rangers.

Ruby is gone now, having died in 1986. There are some who believe her spirit is still there, on guard at her beloved Alamo. She was buried on the grounds with a tombstone, adorned by a Texas flag, with these words inscribed :

Another story by Lucille: Lazy Cat That Saved $200,000

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