In this chapter, the young protagonist is introduced. He is introduced as the son of the cat, who is named after the protagonist's father, Monsieur Alphonse . The young protagonist asks his father where his manuscript is, and his father tells him that he has been with the cat all day and has not been able to complete his work. When the cat finds out that his father has been taken by a crab, he is very excited. He asks where his father's manuscript is and tells his father that if he does not hand in his manuscript today, he will crush his head. He also asks where the cat's dad has been, and the cat answers that the cat has been taking care of him all day. The cat then tells the story of how his father was taken away by the crab, and how he was unable to finish his manuscript because of the crab's presence in his belly. He tells the cat that his ideas are "whooshing out" and that great authors are "truly mysterious" . He then asks the cat to teach him how to become darker than he is. He says that he will become completely