The Aristocats Collection

Chapter 19

I cried again. The vicious growling sounds grew louder. Duchess and I had been taken hostage by the wolves! We were tied to a tree, and the Alpha of the pack was snarling questions at us.
    "What are your names? How wealthy are you? Who owns you? Would you like to be eaten?" he growled at us. Duchess cried out into the air. "Stop it! Leave us alone!" she meowed. "Kitty burger time!" Called out a girl wolf, obviously crazy. "We will take the younger one and to the den. The older one gets eaten!" The Alpha yelled. "No!" I shrieked, attempting to fight away the ropes. "Leave me alone!"
    The Alpha undid the rope and he picked me up in his teeth. "I shall bring you to the den. You will be my servant!" he laughed. A boy wolf grabbed Duchess. "Should we prepare her for the meal?" he snickered, Duchess wriggling in his paws. "You will have to join in the meal, young one. This cat will be delicious and the young one should join too!" the Alpha laughed. But then I heard a shout.
"CHARGE!"
    It was Toula! She ran toward the wolf holding Duchess and leaped onto his neck. "Ouch!" he screamed, dropping Duchess. Toula then scratched the Alpha. He dropped me, and I smiled. "Thanks sis!" I quickly shouted, fist bumping Toula. The wolf roared at us, but we were just two fast. We all ran back into Madame's house, except for Toula, because she went back to her alley.
    I was so happy! Toula had saved us. The wolves wallowed away, hungry without a cat for a meal. Toula had actually meant something. I loved her so much.
    We went inside. I was cold and shivery. All of the kittens were already in bed, but May. She's so much like me I started teasing her and calling her 'May-rie'. And she's been reading that book she got for Christmas. In fact, just right now she was reading it.
    I had noticed that, since starting to read the book, May was already sitting up straighter and talking more daintily. I told her that her light red bow was a bit off to the side, and she slowly whisked her paw against her bow to straighten it.
    She also started to pull a bit of fur off her head to look like me, hanging down just as modernly. I guess she looked sort of like this. Almost exactly like me--and that was part of it that I didn't really like. There's only me in this universe. There's only one May in this universe. She can be a little like me, fine. But overall she must be her own person. She looked exactly like me. I was a little mad. I went to sleep.
I awoke the next morning. Ha, I had fallen asleep on the couch. I remember Madame stroking me,  and me purring. Was that a knock on the door I heard? It woke everyone up. Madame slowly got up and walked to go get it.
A big, bulky, man stood at the doorway, wearing a kind of a suit. "Hello." he said. "I am Earney." he said.  "I am the entertainer for your cats." Madame nodded, opening her mouth. "Oh, yes. Earney The Great. I remember hiring you." she smiled, as if remembering a distant thought. "Please come in." Earney The Great walked in, looking at all the cats. Madame had called each and every one of us. About twenty six cats! Earney The Great pulled out a giant briefcase from behind him. "We shall begin." he smirked.
Earney The Great (I'm just gonna start calling him Earney) opened the briefcase. Two butterflies fluttered out. How did he do that? "Oh, those pesky little things." he laughed, grabbing them out of the air. He clenched his fists tightly and then opened them. He had changed the butterflies into two cat treats! Delicious! Earney placed the treats in his right palm. He clapped his hands, and the treats multiplied! There were now four! He clapped them again. Eight! Once more. Sixteen! Then he threw the treats into the air and caught them. When he showed them to us, there were exactly, no more, no less, exactly 26. Then Earney threw the treats toward each individual ALL at once, not missing anyone!
Earney then shuffled through the briefcase, producing a silver chunk. "I'm about the turn this chunk into a gold nugget." he said. We all meowed in awe. "And from there, I will transform it into a diamond bit!" We meowed louder. Earney clasped his fingers around the silver chunk. "Gold, gold! Give me!" he shouted. Then he opened his hand. The silver was rapidly getting smaller. It soon transformed into a pile of silver powder. The powder changed color, and then it flew into the air, building a gold nugget. The nugget, suspended in the air, then dropped into Earney's palms.
"That, my friends," Earney started, bowing. "Is not all. Diamond, please come up to the front."
We were all confused yet amazed. How did Earney know Diamond's name?  Nevertheless, the calico kitten stumbled up to Earney, wobbling the whole way.
"Diamond, diamond, there is one of the same name. Create a diamond bit, that is the game!" Earney chanted, placing the gold nugget on Diamond's head. Diamond sneezed. The nugget flew forward, swerved, and then sat back on her head. When it came back, sitting down, it was a diamond bit! I was amazed. Diamond laughed. But then the bit rapidly painted gold, and then withered to silver again. "That is all for now, kitties." he smiled. Then smoke appeared, and--poof!--he was gone! Now that was amazing.
The crowd of cats and kittens filled with excitement and chatter. My kitten Sara was shaking her head as if this was too good to be true. Abe Gio and Bristol were chatting as fast as motors, bouncing around in circles. Lanc and Paris were seated cautiously, backs straight, quietly praising to each other what they had just seen.
It would soon be Valentine's day, and Mariette would be returning for just a while with Benjamin, her fiance (they just got engaged!). I hope Berlioz finds someone to love. First Clovisse, then Lucy (whom he crushed on), and when he finally had gotten a wife but she died, Winter. Berlioz is, sad to say it, a hopeless romantic. Bad luck happens, love runs away. That is how Berlioz' life is.
Hey--but what if I could find Berlioz a date? It would be perfect! A present, a gift. A blind date, perhaps! I dashed out of the house, fast as I could. I was gonna find Berlioz a date--and possibly mate.
"Who is looking for a mate!" I shouted. At the time, I hadn't thought that this was a dumb idea. A tortoiseshell cat slithered up to me. "I am Fiorellia." she said in a thick Spanish-like accent. "I am Italiano." she smiled. "I am very sorry for ze accent, I am learning Inglese. I mean English. Is your amante you speak of nearby? I have stato searching for an amante who will amore me no matter what my differenze are."
I understood most of what Fiorellia was saying. Then she laughed, and in a perfect English voice she said, "Ha, you fell for it! I don't need no dumb mate." she wrinkled her nose and ran away. Rude.
Maybe Berlioz wouldn't find another mate. At least he passed on the generation. At least.