#3 The Gumbie Cat

"I have a gumbie cat in mind..." Jennyanydots could hear from where she hid in waiting beneath the hood of the jalopy. She sighed, not even thinking about the routine she was to do. She did it every year, and she knew it backwards, forwards, and in her sleep. Mister Mistofelees would "magically" raise the hood of the car, she would yawn and roll out, and then she would tap dance while the other cats sang her praises. She loved the attention, but she didn't feel she deserved it.


I don't do anything, she thought, I only watch out for the kittens and raise the little ones when they are too small to survive otherwise. They are all special, I just teach them good manners. Old Deuteronomy brings me the kittens, I take them in, and I teach them to wash behind their ears! That's all...

Except for one kitten... Macavity. He was always difficult, but I loved him, truly. He was so sweet and feisty all at once. And then he left us...

She sighed, remembering that fatal night, when Demeter disappeared and Macavity struck fear in the hearts of all Jellicles. She remembered the days later, when poor Demeter came back and thrust four tiny kittens into Jennyanydots' arms, unable to say what had happened. But Jenny knew. Jenny knew what Macavity had done to her. And she knew why she must raise the kittens. She knew.

She laughed to herself at the thought of those kittens. They had been fun to raise, as mischievous as they were. Coricopat and Tantomile never allowed themselves to be apart, and Electra and Plato were just crazy. They were always biting each other, always scratching each other, and when Electra grew a little older and became to succumb to the charms of her uncle, Plato was always there to smack her paws and keep her safe. All four of them were attached to each other, and although they were all still kittens, technically speaking, only Electra really played like Victoria and Jemima did. The other three much preferred to go off alone and study themselves or their ineffable names. When they were little, though, they were as bad as she was when she was young...

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"Jennyanydots!" Jenny's owner screeched. "You stupid cat! What do you think you're doing?"

Stupid! Jenny scoffed. I'm not stupid! She licked her tiny paws daintily, clearing away all evidence that she had gone near the forbidden rose bush.

"MY ROSES!" Alice screamed. "They're ruined!" She grabbed a broom from the closet, hollering, "I'll kill you yet, you crazy cat!"

Jenny looked up from her washing and sighed. Here we go again. Again, she returned to her washing. She could hear Alice's steps first in the kitchen, then in the hall, then closer, closer, closer, until the bedroom door opened silently. Jenny just sat there on her bed of tulle and stared at the raving woman. She saw the broom come up and then...

Quick as lightning, she was gone. She tore through the house, a tiny, white streak of fuzz, as Alice came behind her, swatting at her with the broom. Ha! That stupid human never learns, does she? She dove under a chair, and sure enough, the broom followed. She slid behind the stove, under the refrigerator, through the doorway and into the greenhouse. Leaping nimbly on every single topiary, rose bush, and fig tree, she led a winding path through the conservatory into the study, where her muddy paws plastered instant kitten masterpieces all over the walls, mahogany desk, and leather furniture. She glanced behind her, and couldn't help laughing as she ran.

Alice's hair was flying all over her head, wisps of gray protruding everywhere. Her slip was showing, and her skirt was torn.... "Ooh..." Jenny's eyes got wide. The forbidden slip! She stopped mid-run, and, just as Alice was about to swing, crouched low on the ground, fixed her eyes on the hanging bit of lace, and lept. Her claws caught ahold of it immediately, and Alice began to scream. Jennyanydots laughed and laughed as she tore that lace to shreds, then made her escape. The plastic door slammed behind her, and she heard Alice sink into a chair and blow a piece of hair out of her face.

She ran through the park to her sister's house. "Jellylorum!" she called. "Jelly!" Another white tabby kitten appeared, and they squealed in delight.

"Did you get away?"

"I squished a rose bush, and she chased me out!" Jenny squealed in excitement. Jellylorum gasped.

"You did WHAT?"

"I squished a rose bush, and it was lots of fun!"

"That's bad, Jenny. Old Genesis will not be happy about this. He'll say, 'No grandchild of mine should misbehave as much as you do, Jennyanydots."

Jenny hung her head. "But it was fun!"

Jelly smiled and nodded, but she insisted that Jenny was wrong. "Come here, Jenny," she said to her twin. "I have an idea. We have a lot of mice and cockroaches here, and my owners are always complaining about them. Why don't you teach them to behave? Maybe you'll settle down if you have something interesting to do!"

Jenny thought about that. "Alright, I suppose I'll try it... I'll teach them to tat! And then they can make presents for your mistress and she won't hate them anymore! But you have to promise not to tell Old Genesis about my rosebush caper."

"Of course not," Jelly agreed. Thus, as quickly as she had left one house, Jennyanydots came into another. She and Jellylorum stayed together for the rest of their lives, and Jennyanydots became the most well-behaved and respected cat in the Jellicle tribe, due to her good manners, fair treatment of all misunderstood creatures, and excellent Christmas gifts.... lace, hand-made in her mouse tatting classes.

#2 Macavity

Sirens wail, the lights dim, the wind blows.... Someone shrieks, "MACAVITY!" and suddenly, the junkyard is cleared of cats.

"Haha," he chuckled to himself. They're afraid of me! ME! Who ever would've guessed? All of these sweet and spicy characters that I'm related to are scaredy-cats!

I've never done anything to deserve this kind of treatment. Sure, I spent some time (all right, a LOT of time) with Demeter. But she's pretty, kind, and it was a good way to get back at good ol' Munk.

Munkustrap. That stupid cat thinks he knows absolutely everything about everyone. He thinks that just because he's the oldest and he was Father's favorite that he is better than me! He thinks he's better than the Tugger! So what if he's the next Jellicle patriarch? He's unimportant. And, if I can get rid of him, then I can get rid of that stupid Tugger, and I'll be next in line! Ha!

Another cold gust of wind blew through the alley, and Macavity grinned to himself, too excited and angry to shiver. Tonight would be the night that they would pay. He would take his kittens away, far away... Or better yet, he would take his rightful mate and make more kittens! We don't need more little Munkustraps running around loose. He already has that stupid little Alonzo... no nephew of mine should be that devoted to his parents! Parents aren't worth anything...

Well, mothers are. Mother. Poor, sweet Mother. I wonder where she is... I wonder IF she still is... or if she's long dead by now. I wonder how many other siblings I've gained over the years. I wonder...

The lightning spot on his chest was suddenly illuminated by the moonlight, and he slunk back into the shadows even farther. "Hey, boss!"

"Not now, you idiot!" he hissed to his henchcat, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Uh, no boss, umm... everything ready for tonight, boss?"

"I don't know, Mistletoe! That's your job! And if it's not ready..." Macavity bared his claws at the young tom cat. The black cat shrank away, and Macavity could hear his soft calls to the others as he escaped.

His mind was already on another subject. I'll frighten them all night.... terrorize them! And then, when the time is perfect.... I'll spring it on them. I'll take their precious leader... and my Demeter. And then... THEN! I'll kill that stuck-up Munkustrap... I'll bring him down lower than he's ever been before.

As he lay there in his pipe, Macavity's bitter heart throb with jealousy towards his family. He let himself go back, way back... to his very beginning of his completely miserable life.

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"Well, Grizabella, you've done it!" she cried as she gazed her three newborn kittens. The trio were as different as could be, the oldest one a tiny silver kitten with black tiger stripes, the middle kitten a fluffy Maine coon like his father, and the third... well, the third one was different. The third one was all black, with tufts of mustard yellow and red fur poking out all over the place. A white lightning bolt streaked down his chest, and he was loud.

"Ahh, Grizzy," her mate came to her, licking her fur in salutation. He was gentle as her looked at her carefully and lovingly, then at their tiny kittens. Their eyes were still closed, and would be for hours, but Old Deuteronomy could already see who they would become. He had a vision for each of them.

"The little tabby will be my heir, dear Grizzy. He will protect the Jellicles when I am gone, and he will make the family line continue. He is Munkustrap, after my dear, deceased uncle. The second one will make everyone proud. He will study and become a very learned cat. He will always be serious and loving, kind to all. He will always be there when Munkustrap needs him to be. He is... well.... Grizzy, do you have any ideas for a name for this kitten? I rather like Tugger."

She chuckled. "Well, I think we should call him Rum Tummer."

"Hmmm," Deuteronomy frowned. "That's too much fun. We'll call him the Rum Tum Tugger, and see if the length of his name makes him ponder it, thus keeping him silent." They both grinned and licked each other. "And the youngest one..."

He picked up the tiniest kitten in his great paws. "Oh, my." He looked at it closer, and the kitten quaked in fear. He was tiny, much smaller than either of his brothers, and he looked very afraid. But he seemed the muster the tiny amount of courage he had in time to nip the paw that was holding him. "This one will have to go to Jennyanydots. He's too small to survive on his own. We shall call him Joshua, but she will probably rename him. Meanwhile, we will raise Tugger and Munk."

Grizabella looked up at him and tears pooled in her eyes. "Must we send him away? He will live; he's a Jellicle cat!"

Deuteronomy shook his head sadly, and, with the tiny kitten mewing like he was lost, walked away from his wife and kittens, to the home of the gumbie cat.

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Months passed and turned into years, and Joshua prospered under Jennyanydots care. When he was two, she set him loose on society, making sure he washed between his toes, dried behind his ears and always had a healthy diet. The years of favoritism spent on Munkustrap and the Tugger (who, despite his father's hopes, refused to even open a book, much less study it), had begun to wear on the young Joshua. He hated that his father never spoke of him or to him. He hated that Munkustrap and Tugger got to learn to read and write, as Jellicles often do. He hated that Jennyanydots seemed more occupied with her own kittens when they were born and he was a year old. Those stupid twins were always pulling on his tail, scratching him and biting him, and Jenny would just laugh and say, "Now, Joshua, be nice to your cousins."

So he ran. He ran far away. He ran away from his father, his brothers, and Jennyanydots' loving home. He ran away with a gang of old, ugly mousers, and he quickly rose to the top of the outfit. He stayed away for several months, but one night (after he had been into the catnip, I might add), he was feeling a little frisky. So he returned.

It, too, was the night of a jellicle ball. The cats had gathered, and Old Deuteronomy was there with Grizabella and his sons. Jennyanydots was there, but her kittens were nowhere to be found (like usual). But this ball was different from the ones that Joshua had attended before. He tried to go in, he tried desperately to join his family, but Munkustrap barred the way.

"Munk, what is this?" he growled. "Let me in. I'm a Jellicle, just as you are."

The tall silver cat stared at him. "Who are you?" he asked forcefully. Joshua scoffed at him, shaking his head angrily.

"I'm your brother, you old bat!"

"My brother is already here, with the ladies as usual. I do not know you."

Joshua had had enough. He shoved his way through, and his eyes fell on a small, young queen in the center of a group of toms. She was black and gold, with red stripes cascading through her fur. She was gorgeous.

Munkustrap saw where his gaze went, and he was suddenly even more alert. Demeter was his mate, she was the mother of his three kittens, and there was no way that this stranger was going anywhere near her.

Claws flashed. Teeth tore through flesh. And in the end, Joshua won. Munkustrap lay in a pool of blood, and Joshua grabbed his prize and ran, crying the whole time, "I am evil, I know bad things about every one of you, and I hate you all! I am Macavity, and you will never get rid of me!!!" The name had come out of thin air, but it stuck. Joshua, his mother's favorite son, had become the terror of the tribe: Macavity, the mysterious Napoleon of crime.

#1 A Jellicle Moon

It was silent in the junkyard. A bright, white moon rose full above the skyline of London, and a cold wind howled. Out of nowhere, a small black, and gold cat appeared. The queen had a fierce, frightened look about her, and she looked around cautiously. The wind blew through, rippling her fur, and she let out a small hissss and ran for the safety of a sewer pipe. Macavity! she sensed. He always seemed to know when the Jellicle Tribe met, and he was very good at crashing parties... and Demeter was scared to death of him.

From behind an old jalopy slunk a sleek, silver tabby. He crouched on the hood of the rusty car, searching for an signs of his mate, brothers, or other Jellicles. He spied a sleek siamese on the edge of the junkyard, smelled the old railway cat approaching. He could hear his brother climbing far above his head, and he knew that it was time.

"Are you blind when you're born?" The call, like a secret code, brought more cats into his presence.

His mate answered him from the pipe, "Can you see in the dark?" and the invitation to the ball began. Demeter's children Coricopat and Tantomile came to him, and so did many kittens. Sweet Victoria came with her mother and brother, Misto. The cats began to sing and dance, crying out with joy and passion at the sight of seeing those that they loved. Munkustrap was nuzzled and licked by many kittens, and his heart swelled with pride as they looked up to him. Being the oldest son and the protector of the tribe made life difficult, but it was worth it. His father trusted him, his mate trusted him, and everybody loved him. When he was there, Macavity stayed in the shadows, and life was good.

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Outside the junkyard, lurk in the shadows was exactly what the angry Macavity was doing. Years! he hissed to himself. Years of being an outcast for no good reason. Demeter is as beautiful as ever, but she hates me, thanks to that no-good brother of mine. Just because he was born first, that stupid Munkustrap gets everything. I hate him, and I hate everyone in that stupid tribe. The only one worth having is Demeter... Bombalurina isn't bad either. But, no, Tugger has managed to seduce her. And what does "Daddy, dear" do? NOTHING!

Tonight, he vowed, tonight Demeter will be mine.... and the rest of those "favored" cats can sit all alone in their pathetic little tribe, dancing and singing the night away. And I will finally sing with Dem again. Finally.

Jellicle Families

Old Deuteronomy is the son of Genesis, the previous Jellicle patriarch. Genesis had four sons: Deuteronomy, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers (called Gus by one and all, since his stage name was Asparagus). Exodus and Leviticus have already gone on to the Heaviside Layer, but Old D, as the oldest, and the youngest, Old Gus the theatre cat, are still waiting for their turn to journey to the next life. Gus will surely go this year or next, and, as soon as Munkustrap is able to fully assume responsibility for the tribe, Old Deuteronomy will follow.

Desendents of Old Deuteronomy (by his mate Grizabella)
- Munkustrap (by his mate Demeter)
~Exotica
~Cassandra
~Alonzo
-Rum Tum Tugger (by his mate Bombalurina)
~Jemima
-Macavity (by Demeter, whom he accosted)
~Electra
~Plato
~Coricopat
~Tantomile

Descendents of Old Deuteronomy's Brother, Exodus
-Bombalurina (by her mate the Tugger)
~Jemima
-Demeter (by her mate Munkustrap)
~Exotica
~Cassandra
~Alonzo
(by Macavity)
~Electra
~Plato
~Coricopat
~Tantomile

Descendents of Old Deuteronomy's Brother, Leviticus
-Bustopher Jones (by his deceased mate, Mira)
~Mister Mistofelees
~Victoria
-Asparagus (by his mate, Jellylorum)
~Pouncival
~Etcetera
-Skimbleshanks (by his mate Jennyanydots)
~Rumpleteazer
~Mungojerrie

Descendents of Old Deuteronomy's Brother Old Asparagus, called Gus
-Jellylorum (by her mate Asparagus)
~Pouncival
~Etcetera
-Jennyanydots (by her mate Skimbleshanks)
~Rumpleteazer
~Mungojerrie
-Tumblebrutus

To see the ^ Cats, visit http://www.blogger.com/www.jadevideos-inluvwitheb.blogspot.com. You can see all of them, what they look like, and watch the movie to gain further insight into the world of the Jellicle Cats.

Synopsis

This novel is a collection of stories from the musical Cats. Several different cats look back on their lives and reminisce, giving humanity a glimpse into the world of the Jellicles. Memoirs include those of Grizabella, Old Deuteronomy, The Rum Tum Tugger, Demeter, and Mister Mistofelees, among many others.

Dedication

Dedicated to Mrs. Debra Rapson. Everything that I know about music, dancing, acting, and Broadway, I owe to you somehow. You're amazing, and you've always been there for me. Thank you.