There lived an older man of quiet habits, whose world was bounded by the four walls of his home and the gentle presence of his beloved cat. So deeply attached was he to the animal that he rarely traveled beyond the town’s edge. Yet, after months of painstaking preparation, he resolved to join an archaeological excavation near the ancient city of Ur. Leaving the cat in the care of his older brother, he set out across the sea.
Not many days into the dig, a messenger rode out from the nearest city and handed the younger brother a brief, solitary telegram:
CAT ESCAPED BATHROOM WINDOW ONTO ROOF STOP FELL TO HER DEATH STOP
Heartbroken, the younger brother left the camp at once and rode with a caravan to the city to place a phone call to his older brother. When the line connected, he cried out in anguish, "How could this happen? And how could you break such news so crudely?"
"What do you mean?" the older brother asked.
"You ought to have prepared me!" said the younger brother. "First, you send a telegram saying: Cat escaped, searching now. Then a second: Still searching, doubling efforts. A third: Found on the roof, update soon. And only then the fourth: Fell from the roof, died instantly without suffering. A man needs time to bend before the blow!"
Overwhelmed, the younger brother hung up. He pondered returning home immediately, but choosing to honor his commitment, he returned to the desert and threw himself into the hard, silent work of the soil.
Several weeks passed. The dust settled over his grief, and the rhythm of the excavation brought a fragile peace. Then, one hot afternoon, the expedition superintendent walked toward him across the trenches, holding a second piece of paper.
The younger brother smoothed the paper, where a fresh message had been transcribed:
DEAREST BROTHER STOP MOTHER WENT MISSING BUT FOUND ON THE ROOF STOP UPDATE SOON STOP
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