The Aristocats Collection

Chapter 3

I shivered, cold. Just the air in the room made me shake. I couldn't wait to be gone on the cruise ship. My very first cruise ship. Night again.
Remember me, Marie? It has been a few weeks since the last kittens were born. Now, they are healthy furballs! Turns out, Mariette was just what I wanted. Cute, girly--she definitely took after me.
Mariette was sleeping with me. The newest kittens didn't have beds yet. Rebel got a bed, so she doesn't have to share with Toulouse. Mariette's cute, delicate face reminded me of a star. Twinkling, sparkling. By the way, I think I'm an awesome big sister. Not to brag, or anything.
I was super happy. Tomorrow was the cruise! An awesome, cool cruise. My first cruise ever! We already had bags packed. I was taking my pink bows (every one!), a purple ball, and a special occasion bow. My special occasion bow was pink, sequin-y, and sparkly in all ways. Just how a real girl likes it.
Mama didn't come in to tuck me in. She had already come, and I pretended I was asleep. But then I got up.
It was near winter--a sort of middle fall. The air was already slightly chilly. However, the weather was always a bit like that in Paris. I finally got tired and went to sleep.

Bump...riggity bump.
It took me a while to see what was going on. It was dark. There was a tiny hole, shining down light. I could make out 9 other forms, but couldn't tell what they were. Something fishy was going on.
However, despite whatever was happening, I heard Madame's voice. That was good. She sounded unsure of herself. But then I actually heard what she was saying.
''No. There is no way I can part with my cats. I will not sell them.''
I felt alarmed. What if Madame and us had been kidnapped? But that was probably not the case. We were probably on our way to the cruise. But I had never driven third class before.
Were we in a crate? I had to count my family and make sure they were all in the box. O'Malley, Duchess, Toulouse, Berlioz, Rebel, Duke, Mariette, Berlay, and Toula. Nine. Plus me, that makes ten. Phew. Everyone was okay...but they were all sleeping.
''My cats must be doing well in first class. Good they are not in that third class crate.'' Madame muttered.
Obviously there was a mistake. Because we were in a third class crate! Something was wrong.
I slowly walked up to a white cat, whom I found to be Berlay. A sweet smell came from his mouth. I instantly recognised it.
Cinnamon milk.
I walked to another cat, Duke. A smell of cinnamon milk came from his mouth too. Another smell accompanied it. It smelled like the cinnamon milk Edgar had given us when he catnapped us.
Yes--that was it. But who had done this to us?
The car bumped up again, and the crate slid to the side. It woke up Mariette, who was surprised. I softly explained to her what was happening.
''Oh...'' she said. Then she told me something I didn't know that was essential to solving the mystery. "Well, very late last night, Agatha woke us up. Well, everyone except you. I guess it was because you were already asleep soundly. But I drank the milk, and I yawned...that's all I remember.'' Hmm... sounds suspicious, I thought to myself. Too suspicious. Agatha. Edgar. I noticed how alike they sounded. Aga. Edga. It was no coincidence.
Agatha was getting revenge.
The crate bumped up on the wobbly road. Then I heard a friendly voice. It was Roquefort, the kind house mouse!
"Oh, dear. Oh dear." I heard Roquefort say as he crawled all over the box. "Roquefort, I'm in here. My family is too." I tried to remain calm. "Why, hello Marie!" Roquefort said. "Oh, well...it is quite terrible! You are in a crate."
I decided to ask Roquefort a favor. "Roquefort," I started. "If there is anything stamped on the outside of the box, read it." I heard Roquefort scurry about. Then I heard a sigh, then a gasp. "Uh oh." I heard Roquefort's voice sadly say. "What is it?" I asked, worried. Roquefort read out the words. "Fragile: Handle With Care. Ship To United States." I gasped. How far away from Paris was that? I thought we were going to the cruise docks! I was scared and backed up.
"Marie? Marie?" Roquefort said worriedly. I guess he heard my gasp. The United States seemed far away. Mariette stared at me. I could see tears in her eyes already. "What's gonna happen to me? And us?" she whimpered. I hugged her. "We'll be okay." I told her. But I wasn't so sure.
Finally the car stopped. I was praying that Madame would pick us up out of the back. But she didn't. I breathed hard. Everyone was awake now. It was a lot more crowded when we were awake and moving around. However, though, I was glad we got a crate that was a bit spacey.
I wondered how long it would take to go to the United States. A long time, probably. And no milk or food? Water, even? We had to do something. Just as the vehicle was about to move, I whispered something to Thomas.
''Thomas, make a ruckus. In fact, everyone. We need to break this crate!'' I said. Everyone started moving about, trying to disassemble the flimsy crate. Finally, we had made a crack.
''Roquefort, are you still here?'' I said. I heard no response, so he wasn't.
Ha! Finally. One side of the crate completely fell. We all filed quickly and jumped out of the car. That's exactly when it started moving. Then it drove away.
We ran to the doors of the train station, which were about to close. The train attendant scoffed at us. ''Oh, stray cats. Disgusting.'' Then he slammed the door shut. I whined. ''We will never get on the cruise. We will never find Madame. We'll just...we'll never survive!'' I cried. Last time, I had stayed a night in the wild. The time before that, Duchess, Toulouse, Berlioz and I had only spent two days in the wild. But the cruise was a whole week. And I had no idea where in the world I was!
I just knew that I was lost.
I sighed and stared at the ground. Misery drenched me. Hopes and willingness drowned in my sadness. We had to catch up to that boat.
Mama leaned down to me. "Marie, no matter what happens...we..." Mama either didn't finish her sentence or didn't know what to say. Duke was looking around happily. "What's up, Duke?" Thomas asked. Duke smiled. I just knew it. He was gonna tell us in song.
"When I look around, at the trees and the ground, I see a place I've seen before. A calm, nice place, no dangers to face. Lady, buddy, no need to pace! It's okay, it's okay--we'll get there. We'll arrive, with time to spare. If it's Madame you're looking for, look no further--just walk some more!"
I decided to join in. "Maybe we have hope." Rebel chimed in. "Maybe we don't." Mama turned to Rebel. "Always be hopeful, don't be nopeful. Think the right way, and seize the day!" Berlioz and Toulouse both sang at the same time. "We'll make it to the cruise." I joined in again. "The cruise! The cruise!" Rebel got a nice solo. "With no time to lose." Mama helped out Rebel. "To lose, to lose." Then everyone, even O'Malley, sung. "We...will...win!"
We walked for a bit. Finally, I couldn't hold it in. I needed to sing. "Walking off to find Madame, walking really far. I'm really bored...My legs are sore! There's no way I will walk anymore."
I stood in place. O'Malley backed it up, and joined in.
"You want Madame, right? Find her by night? If we don't, it could be bad--if we get there, you'll be glad! If we don't, creepy crawlies, evil snarlies, and all things bad...will come out to get the weak and sad."
I scrunched up my face. "I'm weak? I'm sad? Are these things a fad? Why call your daughter such horrible things, when you are them yourself!"
O'Malley sung back. "What, you say? I am not."
"Yes you are!" I chimed.
"No I'm not!"
"Mah-ma!"
Duchess intercepted us. "Darlings, do not fight. We haven't time to rally. I'm disappointed in you, Thomas O'Malley."
Toulouse jumped into the argument. "What's going on? Fighting in song? Let me join in! I'll grab Marie's fin!"
I yelped. "What am I, a fish? Pish pish pish. Blah blah blah, Toulouse? Nah."
Berlioz whipped his head around. "What's going on? Shouldn't we be gone? This would have never happened if it weren't for Marie!"
I flashed a look at him. "How is it my fault? Sure, I started the fight. But it's not me that got us here in the night. It's Agatha's fault, you see. The milk sent you to sleep. Then you wake up in a crate, all because of her hate!" Mariette and Toula both looked at me, and sung simultaneously. "So Marie, how do you know? Are you working with her? Prove it you are not. That's why we fought!" The only cat that stayed quiet was Berlay.
Rebel and Duke both turned around. "Shh!" Rebel said. "Quiet!" Duke hissed. We listened and heard a motor. Like a car. But maybe--a bike. "Quick, hide!" Thomas whispered. We dashed into a nearby bush. Yes, it was a motor bike. Two, in fact. Uh oh. Trouble.
It was Agatha and Edgar!
I gasped. I thought Edgar was shipped off to Timbuktu! And guess what--they stopped RIGHT in front of our bush. And--of course--they started singing.
"Those little, sad cats. They're having a good time!" Agatha laughed evilly. "I bet they fell into a pile of slime." Edgar giggled. The began to take turn singing.
"Got captured by rats?"
"Bothered by gnats?"
"Wet by a lake?"
"Sweeped by a rake?"
"Tripped on a rock?"
"Smelled an old sock?"
Then they sung together, "You get the deal."
"I hope they're not on the cruise!" Agatha laughed.
"I hope they can't even snooze." Edgar yelled.
"Well, Edgar, let's go."
"Right behind you, Aga!"
Then they sped off.
Berlay whined. "Mama, I'm scared. Who was that old man?"
We all still remained silent. I fell asleep.
When I woke up I was riding on O'Malleys back. I got up. "What'd I miss?'' I said. ''We found the train!" Berlay said. I'd never heard him talk unless he was scared or he was singing. "It stopped just a few minutes ago...but then it started moving again.'' Again, Berlay. Why was he so talkative now? Did something happen when I was asleep? "The train is stopping at the next terminal, which is not far away." Duke said.
I felt like a baby riding on O'Malley's back. I jumped off it. I felt like mouthing off at him, about how I can walk on my own. But, of course, I had started that argument slash song earlier. Of course I didn't want to cause more trouble. So I walked along. I made circles with my foot. I listened to nature. Rebel wrinkled her nose. ''Uh, Duke, there ain't no terminal around here. It's pure nature for miles.'' she backlashed. Mile? Miles? I could NOT walk that far. Not. Ever. Duke sighed. ''That's what it is, Rebel. Five miles.'' I gasped. FIVE miles? That was crazy! How did my dad, who didn't even have an idea of where he was going, think that I would walk 5 miles? And then another song.
''It may seem long, but not in song!'' O'Malley sang happily. ''It's just a man's job!'' Duke whispered to him, trying not to be heard. Rebel heard too. ''I'm a girl and I can do it! Don't be like that. It's certain the only animal that can do it is a cat.'' she exclaimed.
A scruffy bird I'd never seen before flew out the branches. ''You can't say that, no you can't! The only animal that won't is an ant.'' he sang. Uh oh...an ant came now! This was getting crazy! ''I can do it, don't you see? My ant hill goes for miles deep!'' I looked around. Ants, birds, cats--a food chain! ''We'll eat you, bird!'' Toulouse whistled. ''I'll eat you, ant!'' Ugh. Now we'd chase each other around, I was sure. But we didn't. We just walked along, and soon the ant and bird were gone.
I hoped we would reach the terminal soon, and badly. I missed Madame really badly. I didn't think I could walk any further...plus I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad. ''I need to use the bathroom.'' I said. O'Malley looked at me with a well-why-are-you-telling-me face. ''Just do it. You can do it in the wild.'' he said. I looked at him, horrified. He was crazy! ''Why would I do that?!" I exclaimed. Duke and Thomas sighed. ''How long do you think we had survived in the wild? We had to go at some point. And we did it where? Here.'' Duke smiled. Ew. Just ew. "Marie, I'm a girl. Even I had to go in the wild. It's natural." Rebel said. "What did you expect, a magic litter box to appear? I had never used one in my life till I became an Aristocat!" I gasped. How unsanitary! I padded over to a bush and hid behind it. Whatever, I thought. Whatever. I will not go to the bathroom in the wild.
Toula snickered at me. ''That's fine, little princess. Stay over there until a litter box falls out of the sky.'' I pretended I didn't hear. Mariette bounced over to the bush with me. ''Oh, come on, Mariette. You don't have to go too. Just copying the princess.'' I wrinkled my nose, while Mariette shouted, ''Maybe I do!'' Then I thought about Madame. I wiped my salty tear-eyes. Toulouse and Toula, at the same time, both shouted, ''Bleh bleh bleh. I'm a princess, and I can't go in the wild.'' That was it. My trigger was pulled. I wanted to just start running as fast as I could.
I dashed out from behind the bush, and chose to fight instead of run. I jumped onto Toula, and my teeth sank into her neck. She squealed. How do mama cats hold their kittens by the neck?
I let go just as quickly as I had started. Every cat stared at me. The taste of blood wouldn't leave my mouth, and Toula was crying. I knew I was in big, big trouble. I mean BIG trouble.
Mama stared at me, like she was deciding which flower to pick. More like whether or not to pick me, the flower. I dashed back behind the bush, breathing hard. Mariette scooted away from me. Was I an Aristocat, or an Alley Cat? Were having three ex-Alleys around me changing me?
Chants drowned my ears. A high pitched, barely heard voice whispered 'Aristocat', while a loud, screechy voice shouted 'Alley Cat'.
ALLEY CAT!
aristocat
ALLEY CAT!
aristocat

The chants slowed down a bit--I could hear someone crying. But it didn't sound like Toula. I turned to look around the bush.
It was Mama.
Tears flowed out of her eyes quickly. She barely made a sound. Not too much whining, a ton of tears. Then I heard a whisper in my ear. But nobody had told me the whisper. It was from my heart.
No matter how you act, the worst thing a mother can imagine is you being
GONE.
My shoulders flopped down. I repeated the words to myself, and saw the truth in them. No matter how you act, the worst thing a mother can imagine is you being gone. There was a truth to it. But was it entirely true? Was it right? Another voice happened along to remind me something that was important.
Right is not the same as kind. Choose kind when given a choice.
Wow. Yay. Now I was crazy, and if anyone found out that I heard whispers from the air, I'd be known as the Air Talker. Or some childish nickname. Like the Wind Whisperer, or the Weird Wind Woman. Maybe the Elegant Air Aristocat. Wait, no, I actually like that one. Possibly the Crazily Confused Cat. I felt betrayed.
By myself.
Mama was still crying, and was looking for me. I felt bad. But I still could not pull myself to emerge from the bush. Then a sound surprised.
Burrrrr, wooo. Burrrr.
It sounded like...no, it couldn't be. It was nowhere near here!
It sounded like a train!
I skipped out of the bush. How had I not noticed it? There were train tracks near here. We had walked on the train tracks, and I hadn't noticed!
I ran up to the side of the train, meowing as hard as I could. Maybe it was Madame's train!
The train slowed to a long stop. And guess who ran of the train to grab every single one of her cats and kittens?
Madame.
We would make it to the cruise. We would have fun. And we would not be alone, and in the wild!
However, though, I still needed to go to the bathroom.