On Thursday we welcomed a delegation of young cats to the Nose Academy, where our Nez, Céleste, gave her annual introductory class. Fourteen kittens sat in a row on a long bench, each with a strip of paper, a bowl of water and an expression of hope. The first lesson was simple: smell a thing, and decide whether you are for or against it.
By the end of the afternoon, the students had identified lavender (three correctly), toast (all of them), and a hidden sardine (one student, and he was immediately offered a scholarship). Céleste declared the group “promising,” which she has said only twice in eleven years. She then retired to her cushion for a rest and, one assumes, to reflect on the future of her art.
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