The Cat, the Girl and the Puma

The Cat, the Girl, and the Puma

Butterscotch Beaumont was an elegant cat,

Not one who dressed up nor wore a hat.

Yet he was grand in his own sort of way,

He knew his own mind at the end of the day.

Butterscotch Beaumont lived in the house on the hill,

With velvet curtains and a crystal vase on the sill.

For Butterscotch Beaumont, going out in the rain

and leaving his warm home was considered a pain.

He was well looked after, with the freedom to roam,

but Butterscotch Beaumont preferred to stay home.

His days were uneventful, as were his nights.

Curled up in a ball while kids flew their kites

The children played often and sometimes with him.

They dressed him in dolls' clothes. Pink, with a trim.

All that was OK for Butterscotch, who was not upset,

with the Beaumont children, who dressed him, their pet

But today, something was up, and he responded disturbed.

An unfamiliar sound in the hallway. He no longer purred.

Butterscotch tilted his ear. First, the left, then his right.

When he turned his head fully, he witnessed the sight.

For there in the hallway, well-lit from above,

was a hamper of kittens surrounded by love.

The Beaumonts, the neighbour, Mr Philips, and Gran,

cradled a basket, and the cooing began.

Butterscotch saw kittens jumping with glee.

His family was delighted, their antics to see.

Butterscotch Beaumont, from his spot on the sill,

pondered his future in the house on the hill.

With kittens around, his peace was disturbed.

With grown-ups obsessed, he was somewhat perturbed.

There is nothing for it, he thought as he sat on the sill,

I must take my leave from the house on the hill.

He got up, stretched, and jumped down onto the floor.

The carpet he would miss, of that he was sure.

He squeezed through the cat flap, which led from the hall,

down the moss-covered path, away from it all.

He passed rusty bikes and the rickety shed,

beyond the rose garden and the vegetable bed.

He avoided the gardener, who was picking some peas,

She was stuck in the mud, right up to her knees.

He saw Red Robin tweeting with Earl,

a snow-white owl as bright as a pearl.

The birds stopped their chatter as Butterscotch passed by.

There was no howl, no holler, no outrage, or cry.

Nobody cared whether Cat Beaumont was going or not.

He decided to keep going and leave them spit-spot.

His life had been dull and rather secure.

He needed an adventure and be less demure.

Without further ado and with a glint in his eye,

he traipsed through the buttercups and looked up at the sky.

"This is a new journey," he thought as he went on his way.

The family will miss me and be full of dismay.

When Pippa and Gerard, Mummy and Dad,

realise I've gone; they'll be terribly sad.

No doubt they'll come running from the house on the hill,

to make sure I am alright and take me home to the sill.

But no one came searching, no voice calling his name.

Butterscotch felt alone, forgotten and lame.

The day had darkened with the onset of night.

When the sun set, the moon shone its light.

Butterscotch was worried, for where should he sleep?

No basket nor blanket, or company to keep.

His eyes grew weary when he spotted some stables.

They seemed forlorn next to the house with the gables.

He squeezed his way in through a gap in the side,

and found a spot where he could both rest and hide.

Early the next morning, there was a tremendous din.

Butterscotch woke up. What place was he in?

As he focused his eyes, Butterscotch saw a small golden head,

from the top of the hay bale, which served as his bed.

He noticed a little girl with dolls in a pram.

She unpacked a breakfast of brown bread and jam.

As the little person served tea to her dolls and teddy

Butterscotch looked on. He was alert and ready…

Worried she'd see him, he stayed quiet and still,

and pondered why he had left the house on the hill.

After a while, a friendly voice came from the house with the gables,

which was the rose-covered cottage not far from the stables.

"Alice, my love, it is now time for school,

Bring dolly and teddy along with your little stool.

You can play with them later; they will be waiting for you.

It's time to collect your lunch box and school satchel too."

Butterscotch relaxed as Alice left the stable.

He curled up to sleep, which now he was able.

He slept all day long and had many a dream,

but woke up and panicked when he heard Alice scream.

Butterscotch Beaumont jumped up from his bed,

and squeezed through the hole in the side of the shed.

There he saw Alice, who was face to face,

with a vast, daunting creature of a whole other race.

Alice was petrified and started to cry.

Butterscotch knew he could not simply stand by.

He leapt into action and grabbed the beast by its tail.

Tackling his hindquarters, Alice turned pale.

In all the commotion, Alice was able,

to escape from the scene and run to the stable.

The colossal creature, after what had occurred,

shook his glossy black fur as if unperturbed.

Butterscotch, in shock, sat perfectly still,

wondering why he had left the house on the hill.

This was more adventure than he could conceivably bear.

Even if with annoying kittens, he really would rather be there.

A little while later, Alice peeked out and waited,

to make quite sure the danger had abated.

When the coast was clear, Alice came out of the shed.

She rushed over to Butterscotch and stroked his head.

You are so brave, so kind, and so strong.

I can't help but wonder to whom you belong.

He wanted to tell her, "I want to be with you."

But cats can't talk, so what could he do?

Alice picked Butterscotch up and kissed his head.

"You are the most amazing cat ever," she lovingly said.

Then Mummy came running, shouting for dad.

"There's a puma around," her strangled voice said.

"The local news says there is a leopard on the loose,

Or some type of feline, the size of a moose.

We are told to stay at home and lock the door.

We are to wait for instructions until they know more."

Then Mum cried, "Alice!" spotting her outside in the dark,

"Come quickly!" she screamed, with a yelp and a bark.

Alice clasped Butterscotch to her chest and ran,

into the kitchen, where she bumped into Gran.

Following hot on mum's heels was dad,

"Quick, close that door", his breathless voice said.

Then dad saw the cat held in Alice's arms.

She knew she must engage her best daughterly charms.

"Daddy, this is Ginger." She gave him a pat.

"He saved me from being eaten by that huge scary cat."

"You saw the predator prowling?". Mummy was justifiably shocked.

Granny got the key, ensuring the backdoor was locked.

After mere minutes, forceful knocks and a piercing sound.

Police arrived on motorbikes, and noise of sirens all around.

"The Puma has been sighted. It escaped from the zoo.

It eats chickens and rabbits and vegetables too."

"Our little girl saw it", Alice's mother then said.

"If it weren't for this courageous cat, she might have been dead."

"Will you tell us what happened?" the policewoman asked,

"It will help the investigation with which we are tasked."

Alice looked at Ginger, and their story was told,

to anyone who wanted to listen, the young and the old.

The news of Ginger's heroics reached the house on the hill,

where the family had not actually missed Butterscotch, still.

But overall, events had taken a turn for the best.

Alice and Ginger felt utterly blessed.

"So happy you saved me", Alice used to say.

"It is you who saved me," Butterscotch purred at the end of the day.

When Alice's little brother, Oliver, was born,

Ginger thought his blissful life would be threatened and torn.

He sourly remembered the kittens yet was surprised to see,

that having a new baby didn't mean "Not me".

Alice, Ollie, Mum, Dad, and Gran,

were now Ginger's family, his very own clan.

Butterscotch, now Ginger, made his friends at The Gables,

with Scrubby Duck and Chasey, who had a nest in the stables.

When their yellow and brown ducklings took to the lake,

Ginger would watch them for their safety's sake.

He realised that assumptions don't have to be true.

Cats can love ducks, this much he knew.

Ginger met Puppy and Daisy the cow,

the homeless slug Lucy; He liked them all now.

With Squirrel, and Robin, Blue Tit, and Rabbit,

Playing in the garden was a near-daily habit.

In front of the fire, on top of a lap,

in the sun on the porch, Ginger would nap.

His life had changed, not only his name.

He no longer felt others for his unhappiness were to blame.

Many years later, after a long life full of love,

Ginger looks down on his old home from heaven above.

He watches over Alice, Ollie, and all of his clan.

Grateful that at the house with the gables, his best life began.

"Thank you, my friend," Ginger whispers to the colossal black cat,

Who lounges beside him, wrapped in a heavenly chat.

"Without your scare, in the garden below,

who knows whether I would have met Alice and Ollie in tow.

From the vantage point of paradise, I now clearly see,

that heaven on earth is also meant to be.

If your days are not great, and you think nothing can be done,

remember, this is your life, and you are the one.

There is no need to be scared; just know that you must,

in you and your ability, your courage, to trust.

Now is forever. Forever is now.

Never doubt it, ever; You will make it somehow.

"Think big. Think miracles, friendship and love,"

is Ginger and Puma's message from heaven above.

The End