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The Story of The Rum Tum Tugger by Kimberlina
RUM TUM TUGGER Part 1
I had been in the world for about five minutes, and they already thought I was adorable.
"Oh, look at the little black and brown one! He's so cute! He's going to grow up to be such the little ladies cat."
My eyes weren't open yet, but I could guess that was my mother talking. I was starting to feel really cool, after all, I was the center of attention. Then I heard him say it.
"Oh, that one won't be anything in life. The grey tabby is the oldest. He will be the leader when you die, Deuteronomy."
That pretty much shattered my ego. At least for the moment. I don't know who it was who said it, but he made me mad. My mother started to lick my face.
"Don't listen to him, little one." She told me. "You're precious in your own little way."
"What should we name them?" A pleasant male voice said.
"Well, they're your sons, Deuteronomy. You name them."
"Alright. The grey tabby is Munkustrap." I felt someone pick me up. "And this one will be Rum Tum Tugger."
"Rum Tum Tugger? That's a long name for such a tiny kitten."
"Well, we'll call him Tugger for short. Munkustrap will be the protector of this tribe when he is old enough. And, when I pass on, he will be the leader."
"What about Tugger?"
"Well, he can do whatever he wants to do with his life. Asparagus was right. Munkustrap is the oldest, but he's not better than his little brother. They're both special. They will be blessed into the Jellicle Tribe as soon as their eyes open."
Well, that sounded like nothing to me. I was far to young to understand what he was saying. But I understood the part about my older brother being better than me. Well, they hadn't really said that, but I took it that way. I wasn't an idiot. I knew I wasn't going to be treated as well as he would be. But I didn't care.
* * *
It took about a week for our eyes to open. Once we could see, life had a whole new meaning to it. It was overwhelming! All the colors and the shapes! But, most of all, I could see the other cats now. I could see my older brother, a grey tabby. I could see my mother, a grey and black mix. I could see my father, a black and brown mix. And I could see that I would grow up to be handsome. I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, but man, I looked cool.
We were blessed as Jellicle Cats, though at the time I had no idea what that ment. All I knew was that I could see things, and that was all I needed to know.
I remember one day very well. Mother was busy with Munkustrap, so I took the opportunity to leave our room. I will always remember what I saw.
My father sat in a large chair above the ground slightly, because he was the leader of the tribe. There was a young ginger cat, maybe four months old, standing before him. The ginger looked over at me with cold blue eyes, and I stared back at him. His glare gave me shivers.
"Tugger!" I heard my mother cry. "Rum Tum Tugger! Get back in here!"
She walked out of the room with Munkustrap under one arm. She picked me up, scolded me for leaving the room, then looked up at my father.
"Sorry Deuteronomy." She apologized. "He gets away a lot. A very curious kitten."
"It's alright." He told her. She carried my brother and I back into the room, as father went back to his business with the ginger.
"Who was that, momma?" I asked her.
"Probably a new addition to the tribe." She told me. "Don't go out there yet, Tugger. You're too young. You might get hurt, or lost. Stay in here with me and your brother."
"Yes momma."
I curled up in a ball in the corner, and thought about the ginger cat. *Who was he?* I thought. *He didn't look very nice.* But I soon just dismissed the feelings, and went to sleep.
When I awoke a little later, Munkustrap and I were alone.
"Where's momma?" I asked him. He shrugged.
"Said she had business to do." he told me. "She told me she'd be back as soon as she could with our dinner."
We waited for nearly two hours. I was so hungry, my stomach hurt. I could hear Munkustrap's stomach rumbling. We were both hungry.
"I'm gonna go out there and ask papa where she is." I told him.
"No, Tugger!" he exclaimed. "We're not allowed yet, remember?"
"Well, this is an emergency. I'm sure he won't mind."
I walked out of the room and went up to my father.
"Papa." I said. "Where's momma?"
"I don't know, Tugger." He told me with a sigh. "She should have been back by now. I sent Asparagus to go get you and your brother some food. But I don't know where she is."
"Can I sit up here with you and wait for her?"
He smiled. "Sure."
He let me sit in his lap and wait with him. Soon, a brown tabby named Lillabelle ran in. She was Asparagus' mate.
"Deuteronomy." She said in a shaky voice. "We've found her."
"Where is she?" he asked, worried.
"She was in the city." She hesitated, as if wondering if she could say it in front of me.
"Go on." He told her.
"She was hit by a car." She finished quietly. "She's dead."
My father said nothing. He just closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Then, he nodded.
"I'm sorry, Deuteronomy." She said. "There was nothing we could do."
He stayed silent, and soon Lillabelle left. Then, he looked down at me.
"Go get your brother." He told me. I nodded and walked into our room. A moment later, we returned and stood before him.
"My darling sons." He said. "I have terrible news. Your mother won't be here anymore. She's…she's gone away."
I knew what had really happened. But I was too young to understand it. So I just accepted what he was telling us now.
"I will find a new wife." He told us. "And have more children. You, Munkustrap, will always be the oldest though. You will still rule the tribe one day."
He nodded. "Yes, Deuteronomy."
Father didn't even notice that Munkustrap called him by his real name, instead of calling him "father" or "papa". To be honest, I didn't really notice either.
Asparagus came in a little later. He brought us dinner, and also brought his two kittens, who were about two months older than Munkustrap and me.
"Deuteronomy, I believe you know my children." He told my father. "My daughter, Jellylorum, and my son, Asparagus Jr."
"Yes." My father said. Lillabelle had come with him too, for she was their mother. She didn't want to look father in the eye, sad because she had been the one to give him the news.
We had our dinner and they left. Munkustrap and I curled up together to sleep, alone, for the first time. Father stayed in his chair all night.
* * *
It took father a month to find a new wife. And, a month after he found her, I got three stepbrothers.
I walked into the cave, and my father smiled at me.
"Rum Tum Tugger." He said. "My wife has just had her kittens. You may to see them if you like."
"Where's Munkustrap?" I asked.
"He's out scouting the territory."
I nodded and walked into the room where father's new wife lay with her three sons. One was a red tabby, one a black tabby, and the other a brown and grey mix.
"Hello." She said stiffly. She was a preppy dame, and had never liked Munkustrap or me very much. "What do you want?"
"Just wanted to see my stepbrothers." I told her.
"Fine."
She let me walk up and look down at them. I sneered.
"You call those cats?" I asked her. "They're just balls of fur!"
"Well, excuse me, Rum Tum Tugger! You looked the same when you were first born! Don't criticize my sons!"
"Well, what are their names?"
"I don't know yet. The naming of cats is a difficult matter, you know. I must think about it."
Well, she thought about it all day, and still didn't come up with anything. It wasn't until three days later that she came up with suitable names.
"Plato, Pouncival, and Admetus." She said proudly.
"It took you three days to come up with that?" I asked her rudely. I figured that if she was going to be rude to me, I'd be rude to her back. She glared at me.
"They are wonderful names." She said. She looked up at my father, who was there. "Isn't that right, Deuteronomy?"
"Why, yes dear." He told her. I don't know what he saw in her. They were exact opposites, he was kind, and she was wicked. I guess that goes to show that stepmothers really are wicked.
About a day after their eyes opened, Munkustrap ran in with something in his arms. It looked like a kitten.
"Deuteronomy!" he cried. "Look what I found!"
"Bring him here." My father ordered. He took the kitten from Munkustrap and looked him over. "Where did you find him?"
"On the boarder of our territory. He was all alone."
The kitten chose that moment to start crying. He looked like he couldn't be much older than my stepbrothers. Deuteronomy stood and walked into the room where his new wife was.
"Who is that?" I heard her ask.
"Munkustrap found him out in the forest, all alone." Father told her. "He's not weaned, and needs milk. Could you feed him?"
"Of course, Deuteronomy. Until we find his parents, he will be my son."
An hour later I looked into the room. The new kitten, who was a brown tabby, was curled up asleep with Pouncival, the black tabby.
"What's his name?" I asked her.
"He says he doesn't have one." She told me. "The poor dear. His mother abandoned him before she even gave him a name."
I knew what this was leading up to. Another week-long contemplation to find a suitable name for this kitten.
"I suppose you're going to name him." I said to her. She shook her head.
"No. I don't know if his parents are still out there. I will try and find them. I won't give him a name until I am sure he has no parents. They must have named him something."
Well, the kitten was with us for a long time. My stepmother told him and her three sons that they were all four brothers, and the kitten knew nothing other than that. All four thought they were brothers.
One day, I was babysitting the no name kitten. I had taken him to the city, against my stepmother's wishes, so he could see humans. He was loving every bit of it.
Suddenly, as I turned a corner, a net fell over my head! I screeched in surprise, and saw that a human had caught me. He wore a uniform from the pound.
"Run No Name!" I ordered. I often called him that. "Go tell father that humans have caught me!"
"Tugger!" he cried. But he turned and ran. He didn't get very far. Soon, another human with a uniform had netted him.
They put us in a truck full of other cats. Strays, apparently.
"Where are we going, Tugger?" No Name asked fearfully.
"The humans are taking us to their animal shelter." I told him. "They will sell us to humans as pets. If a human doesn't buy us, they will kill us."
"Oh no." he cried. "I don't want to die. I'm too young."
He cried the whole way there. When we arrived, they put us in separate cages, right next to each other. He just kept crying.
"Oh, can it." I growled after a while. I was in a bad mood. These stupid humans were interfering with my plans! They would pay for that. Well, as soon as I could get free of this cage?
We sat in those cages for three days. On the fourth day, a tall man walked in and looked at No Name.
"Well, aren't you handsome." He said. The kitten looked at me, frightened.
"Don't fight them." I told him. "If you do, they will kill you."
He let the human take him out of the cage and pet him. Then, the human said, "How much for this one?"
The uniformed human told him a price. The man smiled.
"I'll take him." he said. No Name looked down at me.
"It's alright, No Name." I told him. "Just go with it. He won't hurt you. He'll give you a human name, and then you could add something to it to make your real name."
I was trying to give him a little courage, but the poor kitten was petrified. A minute later, the human left with him, and I was alone in a room full of cages. *Poor No Name.* I thought. *Scared to death with a human.* He'd learn to deal with being owned. Just like I would, if someone bought me before they killed me.
The next day, a dame was put in the cage next to mine. She smiled at me.
"Well, look at you!" she praised. "Aren't you a handsome little devil!"
I smiled at the compliment. "Ay, well I do my best, miss."
She giggled. "And who might you be?"
"Rum Tum Tugger."
Her eyes widened. "I know you! You're Munkustrap's little brother!"
"Yes, I am."
"I'm a Jellicle too! They've been looking all over for you, ever since you disappeared. You and the little brown tabby with no name."
"Yeah, he was in the very cage you are sitting in. Someone came in and took him yesterday. He has a home now."
"Well, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Jennyanydots. I'm a friend of Jellylorum."
"Oh, yeah, Asparagus' daughter. I think I've seen you before now that I think about it." I cocked my head sideways to get a good look at her. "Yeah, I have seen you before with Miss. Jellylorum."
"Well, I'm glad I'll have some company while I'm here. I'm not really a stray. I'm owned, but my owners never put a collar on me, so the cat catchers picked me up. My humans should be over to get me sometime soon."
The next day, a human walked in. "There you are, Anna!" he said to Jennyanydots. "I've been looking all over for you!"
As he took her out of the cage, he noticed a red tabby that was in the cage next to hers. He was another no named cat, but older than the kitten.
"Actually, I think I'll take him too!" the human said. The cat catcher nodded.
"Alright. So sorry we got your dame here. But she really should wear a collar."
"Yes. She never ventures out of our house normally. She loves to just sit around and sleep."
The cat catcher got the red tabby and put him in a carrier. The tabby looked up at me.
"Good luck finding your own family!" he said.
I stayed there, alone, for three more days. Then, they came.
"Mommy, I want a kitten! Mommy, I want a kitten!"
"I know, Jimmy, we're going to get you a kitten."
A little boy, maybe three years old, ran down the hall, tugging on his mother's hand.
"Ooh, I want that one!" he pointed to one young cat. "No, that one! No, that one!"
Then, he looked at me. "No! That one!"
The boy's mother walked up to look at me. "You sure you want this one?"
"Yeah! That one! That one!"
She sighed. "Alright. How much for him?"
The cat catcher gave her a price, and she took me out of the cage. "He is a friendly little brute." She said. "I'll go get the carrier."
"No!" the boy cried. "No carrier! I want to carry him!"
She sighed again. "Alright, you can carry him."
She handed me to the boy, and he wrapped his arms around my middle and squeezed. I yelped in pain.
"Oh, no, Jimmy, you're gonna hurt him." she said, prying his little fingers from my ribs. I gasped for air as he kept squeezing. His mother went to do business with the cat catcher, and the little boy just kept squeezing the life out of me.
"His name is Spike!" he exclaimed to his mother. *Oh boy.* I thought grumpily as I tried to breathe. *What kind of family is this?*
In the end, I got put in a carrier. The little boy kept poking me through the bars of the cage. I tried to ignore him. It wasn't easy.
"We have to get Spike a collar." His mother told him.
"No! Spike can wear Fido's collar!" the boy told her.
"But, Jimmy, that's a dog collar."
"But it's got spikes on it! Just like Spike! He gets to wear that collar!"
"Fine, Jimmy. Whatever you want. He's your cat."
After ten minutes of torture in the car, we pulled up at a semi-nice house in the forest. I recognized it as part of the Jellicle territory. That was good. My tribe wasn't that far away.
A man who I assumed was the little devil's father stood outside.
"Daddy!" The brat cried. "I got a kitty!"
"Wow, Jimmy." he said. "What's his name?"
"Spike!"
As the woman carried me into the house, the man whispered, "Spike? Where does he come up with these names?"
"He's your son." she whispered back. She put the carrier on the floor and Jimmy unlocked it.
"Come out and play with me, Spike!" he exclaimed. I hesitated, before slowly walking out. The little boy snatched me up and started to squeeze me into oblivion again. His parents just smiled at him.
"Play nice with Spike." His mother told him. As I tried to run away from the boy, he grabbed my tail and pulled me back.
"Why don't you show Spike his litter box, Jimmy?" his father suggested. Jimmy nodded and picked me up again. He carried me to a corner and stuck me in a box full of sand.
"This is where you go potty." He told me. *Excuse me?* I thought. *I do not do my business in a box.* To prove my point, I walked over to the front door, and scratched at it, trying to tell them to let me out.
"Oh, no." the mother said. "You don't go outside until you know this is your house."
*Well, you just earned a present in your bed.* I thought. The kid tortured me for a few more minutes, before running into a different room to watch TV. I sat there and looked at the box full of sand.
*I don't think so.* I thought. But it was starting to get to me. I stood and started pacing uncomfortably. *No.* I told myself. *I will not do my business in a box of sand. I can hold it.* After a few more minutes, it became clear to me that I couldn't hold it much longer. I ran to the front door and started to cry at the humans to let me out.
"No, no Spike." The woman said. "Not for a few days."
*Just don't think about it.* I told myself. *It'll go away.* I winced uncomfortably. *I hope.* I kept pacing. To occupy my mind, I went into the kitchen. Drip. Drip. Someone hadn't turned off the sink all the way.
*Aarrgg!* I cried silently. *I can't hold it any longer!*
I sat down and crossed my legs, hoping the humans wouldn't come in and see me in my strange position. *I'm not going to use the stupid box. I'm not! I refuse to lose my dignity.* I sat there for about a minute, before I stood and ran into a room. Looking around, I realized it was a bedroom.
*Ha ha!* I thought. *The little creep's bed is the perfect place to relieve myself.*
I did my business, then went back into the living room. They wouldn't notice my present until that night. So I was pretty much off the hook until then.
"STUPID CAT!"
I held back a laugh. That's what they get for not letting me outside.
* * *
After a week, they finally let me outside. I figured out where I was, then ran to the cave where my father lived. Munkustrap greeted me at the entrance.
"Rum Tum Tugger!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been? We've been so worried!"
"It's a long story." I told him. "How's father and the siblings?"
"Well, stepmother disappeared right after you did. Lillabelle reported that she had run off with a younger Tom Cat. Tumblebrutus came back just a few days ago, and?
"Excuse me?" I interrupted. "Who is Tumblebrutus?"
"Oh, he didn't tell you?"
"No."
"No Name named himself. Actually, he says that his owner named him Brutus, and he added Tumble to the front. So his name is Tumblebrutus."
"Ah."
Munkustrap pointed to my collar. "Got yourself some humans, I see."
"Yeah. A little brat."
"Aren't all humans?"
"This one's the worst." I smiled. "I wonder if he'll ever get the hint that I don't like the litter box?"
Munkustrap laughed. "You are one bad boy, Tugger. There is some good news. Father has a new wife."
I rolled my eyes. "Another one?"
"Yep. And she's pregnant."
"Oh boy. More siblings. Well, we're still the best, right Munkustrap? We're the oldest."
"Yep. There are a few new cats in our tribe. One is a red tabby named Skimbleshanks. He lives with the train people, the people who own Jennyanydots."
"Oh, yeah, he was in the pound with me."
"Father's taken a liking to Jellylorum. I didn't want to tell anybody, but I think that if something happens to his latest wife, she'll be his next one."
"Jellylorum? Asparagus' daughter? She's half his age!"
"Yep, well, they don't care." I noticed that he was staring at my chest.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked him. He smiled.
"Have you noticed the ring of brown around the brown patch on your chest has gotten thicker?" He asked me. I looked down at my chest.
"No, not really."
"Well, it is. You have that brown patch on your chest, and just the boarder where the brown meets the black, it's thicker than it was."
I saw what he was talking about. "Oh, yeah." He looked up and smiled.
"Looks like you're growing a mane." He told me. That really made me check myself out.
"Cool!" I said with a laugh. "I wonder how long it'll be?"
"Have to just wait and see, wont we?"
"Yep, I guess."
We walked into the cave and my father stared at me.
"Tugger!" he exclaimed. "You're back!"
"Yep. I'm back." I said proudly. "Notice anything different about me?"
I turned slowly so he could check me out. He frowned, then smiled.
"You're growing a mane." He told me. I smiled proudly.
"Cool, huh?" I asked. "Wonder who I got it from?"
"My mother had a mane." He told me. "Your grandmother. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable."
"Cool. So, where's the newest stepmother?"
He motioned to the room. "In there. She's a doll. You'll love her, Tugger."
I walked into the room and saw a calico dame grooming herself. Munkustrap walked in behind me. The dame looked, startled, at me.
"Who are you?" she asked. Munkustrap stepped forward.
"This is my brother, Rum Tum Tugger." He told her. She smiled and stood up to look me in the eye.
"Tugger!" She made it sound like we were old friends. "Your father's told me so much about you!"
"Good things, I hope." I said back. She held out one hand.
"I'm Macy." She told me. I took her hand and kissed it like a gentleman. She giggled.
"I like a boy with good manners." She told me. "Now, from what I've heard, you had a tough time with your other stepmother. Well, I don't want you to think of me as a stepmother. Think of me as a friend."
I smiled at Munkustrap. "I think I like this one."
She stepped forward and touched my collar. "Where did you get such a hideous thing?"
"My owners."
"Poor dear. Only a sick human would put a dog collar on a cat."
"It's not the collar that's bad. It's the humans."
She nodded knowingly. "Yes. I can imagine, a handsome young kitten like yourself being forced a housecat. It must be hard."
"Yeah, well they've already gotten presents."
She giggled. "I like you, Tugger. You're much cooler than some of the other Jellicles I've seen."
"Like who?"
"Like your stepbrothers. Especially Pouncival. The moment he didn't have to live in the cave anymore, he went straight to the city, followed closely by Plato. Only Admetus stayed in the forest. Tumblebrutus lives with his owner on the far side of the forest."
Suddenly, Macy winced. She put one hand on her stomach, and the other on my shoulder for support.
"What's wrong?" I asked, worried.
"It's nothing. These kittens I'm carrying, they're getting bigger. They take up so much of my energy, just trying to stand up."
"Maybe we should leave you alone." Munkustrap suggested. He helped her lay down, and then led me out of the room. I gasped when I saw who was standing there.
The same ginger I had seen so long ago stood before my father as he had done, with a pure black dame at his side.
"Who is that?" I asked Munkustrap. "I've seen him before."
"That's the protector of our tribe. His name is Macavity."
"Who's the dame?"
"His best friend, Jestenta."
We stayed in the shadows and listened to their conversation. They were talking about something called the Jellicle Ball. I questioned Munkustrap.
"What's the Jellicle Ball?"
He shrugged. "Like I know. We'll have to ask him."
Macavity and Jestenta stayed there a little longer, before leaving. Munkustrap and I walked up to father.
"Deuteronomy," he said. "What is the Jellicle Ball?"
"It is a huge celebration, Munkustrap. It happens once a year, and one cat will be chosen by me to go up to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn."
I knew what the Heaviside Layer was. It was what humans called "Cat Heaven".
"When is the Jellicle Ball?" I asked him.
"In a week." He told me. "Macavity is worried. He fears his father will cause trouble."
"Who is his father?"
"Trusian, the evilest cat around. He is forcing Macavity to be a Jellicle, but he doesn't seem to mind. I just hope Macavity doesn't prove to be the traitor his father is."
I looked around. "As much as I don't want to do this, I have to go home. My spoiled brat owner will be screaming his head off because I'm not there."
"Don't hurt him too badly." Munkustrap teased as I left the cave.
¡@
Part 2
In a week, I snuck out of the house at night to meet Munkustrap. We were going to the Jellicle Ball.
"Where is it?" I asked him when I got there.
"Father says it's in a junkyard in the city, not far from where Pouncival lives."
"Well, lets go."
It took us about five minutes to get to the junkyard. Many other Jellicles were already there. Jennyanydots and Jellylorum both ran up to me.
"Oh, isn't he just adorable!" Jellylorum cried.
They were like aunts. Constantly swarming you with "oh, how cute!" and "you're going to grow up to be so handsome!" Munkustrap laughed at me, because I was the one getting this attention.
"Tugger," he said. "I figured you'd get with the girls, but at least take ones your own age."
"Oh, shut up Munkustrap."
The two old crows left me after a few minutes, and I checked out what was happening. Someone tapped my shoulder.
"Excuse me."
I turned around to see the black dame Munkustrap had called Jestenta, the one who was Macavity's friend.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Have you seen Macavity?"
"No, sorry."
She looked worried. "He should be here by now. After all, he's the Jellicle Protector. He really should be here already."
Jestenta decided to hang out with me until her boyfriend arrived. She kept running her hands through my newly discovered mane. It was barely anything, but she loved it.
At one point, I left her alone for a moment to go chat with Tumblebrutus. I was away from her for barely two minutes, when I heard her scream of terror.
"Ahh!"
Spinning around, I saw a red tabby with his hands around Jestenta's neck, choking her. She gasped for air and tried to scream again.
"Trusian!" A cat I didn't know cried. The other Jellicles started to flee the junkyard. I started to run over to Jestenta to help her, but Jennyanydots grabbed my arm and started to lead me away.
"Run Tugger!" she cried. "This is no place for kittens!"
"Who is that?" I demanded.
"Trusian! Macavity's father! He's come to kill! It's too late to save her. We must flee!"
Jellylorum grabbed my other arm, and the two crows started to pull me away.
"No!" I cried. "I can help her! Please! Let me go!"
"No, Tugger!" I heard Munkustrap's voice. "It's too late to save her. Let the grown Tom's fight Trusian. We are not yet grown. We must flee with the rest of the kittens and the dames."
I stopped struggling and let them lead me away. It took me a minute to realize that I was crying.
A little ways away, they let me go. I sat down on the curb of the road and cried. Munkustrap walked up and sat down beside me.
"What's wrong, Tugger?" he asked quietly.
"It's my fault." I told him. "He wouldn't have attacked her if I had stayed by her side the whole time. But the moment I left her alone, he attacked her."
"Tugger, it's not your fault. Trusian would have found a way to kill her even if you had stayed with her. It's better this way. If you had stayed with her, you might be dead too."
I didn't want to listen to him. Poor Jestenta was dead. Just then, I remembered something.
"Wasn't Macavity the protector?" I asked Munkustrap.
"Yes. I don't know why he never showed up."
"Isn't his father Trusian?"
"Yes."
"Maybe they planned this whole thing. But why would he kill his best friend?"
"I don't know. His whole family is pretty messed up."
Just then, a few cats rushed past me, running into a dark corner. I could hear faint gasping and panting from the corner.
"What's going on?" I asked Skimbleshanks as he rushed by.
"Macy's kittens are coming!" he exclaimed. I jumped up and ran after him. Macy lay in the shadow, panting and sweating.
"Munkustrap!" I said, taking order of the situation. "You take her legs. I'll take her chest. We can carry her together back to the cave."
"Are you sure you're strong enough?" he asked.
"Yes! Now hurry!"
He wrapped his arms around her legs, and I got my arms around her chest, and we picked her up. She wrapped her arms around mine, making sure that I wouldn't drop her. Then, we started towards the cave as fast as we could.
We made it there in five minutes, all three of us sweating and panting. We laid her on the floor of her room, then I left. After a moment, Munkustrap also left.
"Good job, Tugger." He praised.
"For what?"
"Taking charge like that. You knew exactly what to do."
"Well, instinct."
Jellylorum and her brother Asparagus Jr. came a few minutes later helping Deuteronomy and their father along. We had started calling Asparagus Senior just Gus, so we wouldn't confuse him with his son. They were both old, and needed help walking far distances.
"Where's Macy?" Deuteronomy asked, worried.
"She's in her room." I told him. Jellylorum went into the room to help with the birth, because she understood that female stuff.
The next few minutes seemed like hours, as we heard nothing from the room, except the occasional gasp of pain from Macy. Half an hour later, Jellylorum walked out, crying.
"Deuteronomy." She said quietly. "Two females and a male. The male and one of the females are identical twins."
"That's great!" he exclaimed. She shook her head.
"It was too much for Macy to handle." She told him. "She didn't survive it."
Deuteronomy's eyes widened, as he looked at the doorway to the room where his newest kittens slept. Where his wife lay, dead. His eyes closed, and he just sighed and shook his head.
"They will need a nursing mother." Jellylorum told him quietly. "Or they won't survive."
He nodded. "I know." He said quietly. "But none of the females in the tribe are nursing."
"I might be able to help." I spoke up. They looked at me.
"Do you know a nursing female?" Jellylorum asked.
"No." I walked up to my father. "My owner, the little boy Jimmy, he sometimes drinks milk still. It is from a plastic container humans call a bottle. I might be able to steal some of it for the kittens. It won't be a lot, but it should be enough to keep them alive."
Father thought about that for a moment. Then, he nodded. "Yes. You must go now and see if you can get some. The kittens will awaken soon with hunger."
I nodded and left, running. I ran all the way to my house. I went into Jimmy's bedroom, where he lay sleeping. Beside him was a half-empty bottle of milk.
Quietly, I took the bottle and ran back to the cave with it. Father motioned to the room, where I could hear the kittens crying for milk.
I walked into the room, and saw Jellylorum licking their fur clean. Two of them were black tabbies, and were absolutely identical in every way, except one was male and the other was female. The last kitten was a red female with a white chest and black paws.
I handed the bottle to Jellylorum. It was too big for the kittens to drink from, so she got some of it on her fingers and let the kittens suckle on it. It didn't look like they had drunk any of it once they were finished, but apparently they had.
"What will their names be?" I asked Jellylorum.
"Deuteronomy has named them." She pointed to the male twin. "He is Coricopat." She motioned to the female twin. "She is Tantomile." Then she pointed to the red one. "And she is Bombalurina."
I nodded, unsure of what to say. Macy's body wasn't in the room anymore, Asparagus must have gone to give her a proper burial. I remembered what Munkustrap had said about Jellylorum probably being father's wife if Macy died. I wondered if she knew about his liking to her.
I left the room, leaving Jellylorum with the kittens. I couldn't look Munkustrap in the eye. I just walked right out of the cave, and went home.
The next day, the Jellicle Tribe went to Deuteronomy's cave. It was the trial of Macavity.
The ginger stood, head down, in front of everyone. Deuteronomy sat above him in his chair.
"Macavity." He said. "Do you know what you have done?"
"It wasn't my fault." He said quietly.
"You are the protector of the tribe, am I correct?"
"Yes."
"As the protector, you must be at every celebration, and guard the other cats from harm. Last night was the Jellicle Ball. You broke two rules. One, you never showed up. Two, because you didn't show up, the kittens weren't protected. Trusian, your father, came and killed Jestenta."
Macavity was trying not to cry. "I know. He cut of her tail and brought it to me."
"Now, I'm not saying you had any part in this terrible deed. I can't see any reason why any cat would kill his best friend anyway. But, I must ask, why didn't you show up?"
"I wasn't able to."
"What happened last night?"
"I was going to the ball. I was about to leave, but my father locked me in one of his cages. My mother let me out, but then father came back. He gave me Jestenta's tail. Then, father and mother fought. He…he killed her. Then," he looked down at his hands. "…I killed him."
Deuteronomy's eyes widened. "Macavity, you are expelled from the tribe. I suggest you go back to the cave where you live with the Forest Cats, and never come around here again."
"But?
"No objections. You are no longer a Jellicle. You are a Forest Cat."
Macavity said nothing. His body shuddered, then he glared up at my father with an evil in his eyes that I'd never seen before.
"You will regret what you have just done." He hissed. "I will make you regret it. You will not have peace."
Then, Macavity disappeared in a cloud of smoke! My fellow Jellicles, including me, gasped in surprise, as he just disappeared into the smoke.
"A conjurer." Deuteronomy whispered. "He's a conjurer. I can't believe it."
I knew then that we had just seen the birth of evil. Macavity hadn't been anything like his father, he'd been a shy kitten. But my father's words had hurt him. And now, he wasn't that shy kitten anymore. He would haunt us until he died for expelling him from the tribe.
* * *
A few days after the new kittens' eyes opened, I was roaming the forest. Suddenly, someone attacked me from behind!
"Ahh!" I cried out in surprise. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't being attacked, that it was just kitten-play. I spun around and saw a tiger tabby.
"Ello!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. "And who might you be?"
"Rum Tum Tugger." I told him. "Son of Deuteronomy."
"Ah! I be Mungojerrie, son of two cats I don't know." He gave me a sideways grin. "Don't suppose you're a Jellicle?"
"Why, yes I am."
"Great! I've been lookin to get into that tribe. Don't suppose you could help me out a little?"
"Um, sure. Follow me."
I lead the strange cat through the forest, towards Deuteronomy's cave. I could see the twins playing, moving with exact motions. Bombalurina was nowhere to be seen. I assumed Munkustrap was babysitting her.
"Deuteronomy." I said. "Look what I've found."
He smiled at the tiger tabby. "Hello! And who might you be?"
"I be Mungojerrie! You the leader of this joint?"
"Um, yes, I am the leader of this tribe."
"Great! I want to be a Jellicle."
"Oh, really? Who are your parents?"
"Haven't a clue. Never met the folk."
"You've never met your parents?"
"Nope! That ain't a bad thing, is it?"
"Oh, no, it's just unusual. Do you have any friends?"
"Nah. I work by myself. The family just moved here from somewhere around the Thames."
"The family?"
"Yeah." He pointed to the collar around his neck, that I had just noticed. "The people. Only family I have got."
"Really?" I pointed to my collar. "I'm owned too. Humans are such strange creatures."
"Yeah, but mine are pushovers. I can get whatever I want from them."
Suddenly, Plato ran into the cave. "Father!" he cried. "Munkustrap and Bombalurina have been taken by the cat catchers!"
"Did you see this?"
"Yeah! They were right outside of my alley, when the truck came by and picked them up! We gotta help them!"
"Well, maybe not." Deuteronomy thought for a moment. "They might just sell them like they did to Tugger." He motioned to me. "We shouldn't worry yet."
Plato nodded. "Ok. I'll keep a watch out though."
He left, and Deuteronomy went back to the issue of Mungojerrie.
"You are a Jellicle." He told him. "But stay in our boundaries."
Mungojerrie smiled. "Yessir!"
He left, and I left soon after to go to the owners.
About a week after that incident, I was greeted by Munkustrap himself in the forest.
"Munkustrap!" I exclaimed. I circled him to get a good look at his new collar. "Nice. Much better than mine."
"Yeah." He sounded sad.
"What is it?"
"Well, Bombalurina was with me, remember?"
"Yeah."
"While we were in the pound, they had us in the same cage, because they were running out of cages."
"So?"
"While we were there, she went into heat."
I caught on immediately. "You didn't!"
He nodded sadly. "I did."
"Oh, Munkustrap. Sorry, brother."
"Yeah. But now I'm going to be a father."
That really opened my eyes. "But she's too young!"
"Apparently not. She's going to have kittens. And they're mine."
"Ugh." I moaned. "Poor bro. So young, yet, at the same time, so old."
"Yeah, well, father doesn't know it yet. Don't tell him, understand, Tugger? Don't."
"Oh, of course not! I'd never tell anyone if you didn't want me to! So what happened to her?"
"Well, she was adopted by some humans the day before I was. They are in for a big surprise in a month." He shook his head. "I can't believe this is happening to me."
"Well, stop torturing yourself. Father has taken a liking to Jellylorum, as you said. She is his newest wife, but no kittens yet."
"Great. So when they do have kittens, my kittens will have aunts and uncles who are younger than them."
I laughed. "That could get really confusing."
We had walked to the cave where Deuteronomy lived. He looked, wide eyed, at Munkustrap.
"Munkustrap!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine." He toyed with the ring on his collar. "How can you put up with this thing wrapped around your neck all day, Tugger?"
"Get used to it."
"Where is Bombalurina?" Deuteronomy asked. "Is she alright?"
I could tell the question had come far to soon for Munkustrap. "Um, ah, she's fine. Also got some owners of her own."
"Ah." Deuteronomy gave him a strange look. "What's wrong, Munkustrap? There's something wrong, I can tell."
"Oh, it's nothing." He lied.
"You aren't lying to me, are you?"
I knew Munkustrap couldn't stand to lie twice in a row. He was going to crack. He was going to tell him.
Munkustrap burst out crying, and fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry, Deuteronomy! We didn't want it to happen!"
"What happened?"
"Bombalurina is going to have kittens. And I'm the father."
Deuteronomy's eyes got wide. "She's too young!"
"No, she's not. She's going to have them. I can't believe it."
Just then, Bombalurina happened to walk in. Actually, run in, and right into Deuteronomy's arms.
"Oh father!" she cried. "I was so scared!"
"Shh, it's alright." He told her. She looked down and saw Munkustrap for the first time. He just kept crying, and she started to too.
"Tell me all about it." Deuteronomy told her. She looked down at Munkustrap.
"I'm sorry." He told her. "I'm so sorry."
She clutched at Deuteronomy as if she was scared of Munkustrap. I couldn't blame her. She was barely two months old, and she was pregnant. That had to be scary for her.
Munkustrap stood and ran out of the cave, unable to face her. She looked back at Deuteronomy.
"Where are Tantomile and Coricopat?" she asked him.
"They've gone to live in the park." He told her. She sighed.
"I better go home. My owners will be worried."
As she walked by me, she smiled a silly grin. I felt one of her hands run down my back as she walked off.
"Ta ta, handsome." She whispered in my ear. "I'll see you later."
That night, I climbed up onto a desk where I normally wasn't allowed to go. Attached to the top of the desk was a mirror. I looked in it, and smiled.
*It's gotta be the mane.* I thought. *But you are one good-looking little Tom Cat, Tugger.*
* * *
In a month, Bombalurina's kittens arrived. There were three, but because she was so young, two were stillborn. The last one, a calico, was named Demeter. She looked just like Macy, her grandmother.
About the same time Demeter was born, Deuteronomy announced that Jellylorum was pregnant. Also at the same time, Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots announced that they were also expecting kittens in a month, the same time Jellylorum was.
In a month, I walked into the cave where Deuteronomy lived, and heard many excited voiced from Jellylorum's room.
"Are you sure she's pure white?"
"Yes! No other colors!"
"She is a very special cat. The only pure colored cat in my tribe."
I walked in to see Deuteronomy, Jellylorum, Asparagus and Munkustrap, marveling over a beautiful pure white female kitten. I must admit, even I was amazed. Beside the white one was a brown tabby female, but no one was looking at her. We were all staring at the white one in amazement.
"Pure white!" Munkustrap said again, unable to believe it.
"What will we name such a special cat?" Jellylorum asked Deuteronomy.
"A special cat needs a special name. We shall name her after the good queen, Victoria."
"What about the brown tabby?" I asked. He looked at her like it was the first time he'd noticed her.
"Oh. Um, how about Etcetera?"
*That girl's gonna get teased.* I thought. Poor little Etcetera is going to grow up to learn that her sister is better than her. All you have to hear is her name to know that she's not very special. Not nearly as special as Victoria. With startling realization, I remembered how I had felt when Munkustrap and I had been newborns. Everyone loved him, and I was just the little brother. Now it was the other way around. Everyone would love Victoria, and Etcetera would be known as the older sister.
There was a small celebration held that night for two reasons: one for the pure white kitten, and two, it was Munkustrap and my first birthday. Actually, that was in three days, but we figured we could celebrate it tonight.
While we were there, Deuteronomy looked confused.
"Where are Pouncival, Bombalurina and Demeter?" I heard him ask Munkustrap.
"I don't know. She told me she was leaving Demeter at home because she felt she was too young to leave the house. But I don't know where they could be."
Ten minutes later, Pouncival and Bombalurina walked in together. She was crying, and literately wrapped around him. He kept one arm around her, trying to comfort her.
"What happened?" Deuteronomy cried. Pouncival looked up at him.
"Macavity tried to seduce her." He told him. "I found them out in the forest, before he got to business."
"What happened to him?"
"He picked a fight with me." Pouncival smiled. "I broke his leg."
Deuteronomy motioned for Bombalurina to walk up to him. She didn't want to let go of Pouncival, so he walked down to her.
"I'm sorry, Bombalurina." He told her. "He won't bother you again. I promise."
She kept crying. She was saying something over and over again, but it was too quiet for me to hear. I stepped closer and understood her words.
"I love you, Pouncival." She whispered to him, over and over again. "I love you so much."
He nodded and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. They stood there, wrapped around each other in complete silence. No one spoke. Well, not until Etcetera decided she was hungry and started crying.
"Oh Etcetera." Jellylorum muttered. "Why is it that you're the one who's always wining?"
She left, and Pouncival and Bombalurina looked at each other. Then, they kissed.
* * *
Well, Bombalurina and Pouncival were an item for a while. They were always together, and could be seen kissing, and also, from time to time, half way into a make-out session. They looked great together too. And Demeter didn't seem to mind that her mother was in love with a Tom Cat who wasn't her father.
A few days after that incident, Munkustrap ran into the cave with a kitten in his arms. *Haven't I seen this scene before?* I thought as he explained to Deuteronomy that he had found the kitten out in the forest, abandoned by her parents, just like Tumblebrutus. But this one had a name.
She called herself Electra. Her eyes weren't open yet, and she needed milk just as badly as Tumblebrutus had needed it when we had found him. So we gave her to Jellylorum, who fed and bathed the poor tortoiseshell kitten. But she refused to tell Electra that she was her mother.
"It is lying and I won't lie to a kitten." She told Deuteronomy. "She will know how we found her, and that we don't know who her parents are. But I will not call her my daughter."
A few days after Victoria, Etcetera, and Electra's eyes opened, Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks brought out their daughter, a beautiful calico named Jemima. They had been waiting for her eyes to open before taking her to meet us.
The four kittens were all the same age, Jemima and Electra were just a little younger than Victoria and Etcetera. I could tell immediately by the way my father looked at Jemima that she would be a very popular kitten, just like Victoria.
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