The New York Times bestselling author of The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats and Dogs Never Lie About Love , Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson has given cat lovers a wonderful gift: a magical holiday story about a feline named Billi, who long ago, in ancient India, becomes the first cat to choose domestication. Cats relish independence and Billi is no exception. He wanders through the Indian countryside among other animals, enjoying a sense of freedom, belonging to nobody. The holidays approach, Diwali, the Festival of Lights; the monsoon season, when the skies go pitch dark and the rains come, has arrived. At a time when everyone is eager to be home with family and friends, Billi is alone . . . and lonely. Walking into a village, Billi gazes through windows and sees a cozy fire, a content dog, a happy family with children. Inspired, an untamed soul begins the transformative journey to a new life of warmth and togetherness in a world of interconnectedness. With his inimitable storytelling gifts and his unparalleled ability to penetrate the feline psyche, Jeffrey Masson captures Billi’s inner world–his aloofness, mischievousness, and ultimately his new perspective on the deep connection shared by humans and their feline friends. Praise for The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats “An affectionate, completely engaging book full of new insights into the emotional lives of cats. Of course, all cats are interesting, but Masson’s five felines seem particularly so–and you don’t need to be a cat lover to enjoy them via these pages.” –ELIZABETH MARSHALL THOMAS, author of The Hidden Life of Dogs “This enjoyable book is useful for its insights. . . . [It] is full of guidance, but its virtue is, simply, pleasure.” –DORIS LESSING “Fascinating . . . A book full of uncommon insight.” – O, The Oprah Magazine “Witty, allusive, and often enchanting.” – Newsday The New York Times bestselling author of The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats and Dogs Never Lie About Love , Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson has given cat lovers a wonderful gift: a magical holiday story about a feline named Billi, who long ago, in ancient India, becomes the first cat to choose domestication. Cats relish independence and Billi is no exception. He wanders through the Indian countryside among other animals, enjoying a sense of freedom, belonging to nobody. The holidays approach, Diwali, the Festival of Lights; the monsoon season, when the skies go pitch dark and the rains come, has arrived. At a time when everyone is eager to be home with family and friends, Billi is alone . . . and lonely. Walking into a village, Billi gazes through windows and sees a cozy fire, a content dog, a happy family with children. Inspired, an untamed soul begins the transformative journey to a new life of warmth and togetherness in a world of interconnectedness. With his inimitable storytelling gifts and his unparalleled ability to penetrate the feline psyche, Jeffrey Masson captures Billi s inner world his aloofness, mischievousness, and ultimately his new perspective on the deep connection shared by humans and their feline friends. JEFFREY MOUSSAIEFF MASSON, former Sanskrit scholar and project director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, has written more than a dozen books, including the bestsellers Slipping Into Paradise, The Pig Who Sang to the Moon , The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats , Dogs Never Lie About Love , and When Elephants Weep . A longtime resident of Berkeley, California, he now lives in New Zealand with his wife, two sons, six cats, and a menagerie of other animal companions.