The Odd-dizzy: Part 18
“Have you thought of a topic for your postgraduate ASS degree yet, Rinpoche?”
“No, Daddi.”
“Why don’t you do further research on Leonardo da Vinci? You seem to be very interested in him.”
“It’s his clever cat, Fabrizio, I’m interested in, Daddi – not him.”
“Well what about another historical character? Nikola Tesla?”
“Too many other cats have studied Tesla before. What a live wire!”
“Tesla? Yes, he made an invaluable contribution to our understanding of electricity.”
“Not Tesla, Daddi. I’m talking about his cat, Aisee. She was a real bright spark! It’s just a pity that Edison’s cat stole all her ideas about alternating current.”
“Hmm. Perhaps you could study Alexander the Great instead?”
“He’s been done before, Daddi. By the way, did you know that Alexander’s cat, Victor, was the most territorial feline that ever lived? Centuries ago, he even conquered our own village catwalk.”
“Interesting. What about Ivan the Terrible?”
“Out of the question, Daddi. I’m not wasting my time researching such a horrible man! And his cat was even worse than Hitler’s cat.”
“I thought Hitler had a dog?”
“He also had a cat, Brunhilde. It’s rumoured that after the war she stowed away on a ship sailing to Argentina.”
“Rinpoche, you seem to know a lot about these cats belonging to famous people.”
“I do, Daddi. It’s a shame that nobody gets to hear about them. Every thesis seems to be about some boring human. Cats are much more fascinating.”
“But don’t you see? You wanted a thesis topic that’s original. Why don’t you research some of these cats?”
“I couldn’t do that, Daddi. It’s never been done before.”
“But surely that’s the point? You could be the first to tackle this interesting field.”
“That’s a brilliant idea, Daddi! I’m so glad I thought of it!”
“You thought of it?”
“Yes, Daddi. I can’t wait to tell my tutor, Dr. Tröger, about my clever idea!”
