The Black Cat
埃德加·爱伦·坡 / Edgar Allen Poe
埃德加·爱伦·坡（Edgar Allen Poe，1809—1849），美国浪漫主义文学大师，19世纪美国最著名、最具代表性的作家之一，在短篇小说的发展历史中占有突出的地位。爱伦·坡的短篇小说大致分为三类：恐怖故事、谋杀疑案和科学难解之谜。他开创了侦探小说的先河，被称为“侦探小说之父”。本文被公认为他最完美的短篇小说之一，也是世界最佳短篇小说之一，充分体现了他关于短篇小说的理论和风格特征。
For the most wild， yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen， I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it， in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet， mad am I not—and very surely do I not dream. But tomorrow I die， and today I would unburthen my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world， plainly， succinctly， and without comment， a series of mere household events. In their consequences， these events have terrified—have tortured—have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me， they have presented little but Horror—to many they will seem less terrible than baroque. Hereafter， perhaps， some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the common-place—some intellect more calm， more logical， and far less excitable than my own， which will perceive， in the circumstances I detail with awe， nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.
From my infancy I was noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition. My tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of my companions. I was especially fond of animals， and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these I spent most of my time， and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them. This peculiar of character grew with my growth， and in my manhood， I derived from it one of my principal sources of pleasure. To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful and sagacious dog， I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable. There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute， which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man.