Ally on my old couch October 1993

Ally in the roses in my backyard, July 1997

Nine years ago, there was a kitten named Ally. Her sisters were a little jealous of her since she had a beautiful, shiny black coat. One day as she was playing tag with her sisters Joan and Tess, Ally heard a faint little cry. "Did you guys hear that?" Ally asked her sisters.

"Nope," replied Joan.

"Nuh-uh," said Tess.

"There it is again!" Ally exclaimed. This time all three of them heard the sound. "It sounds like someone's hurt! Let's go help them out."

"I don't think that's such a good idea.." Joan said hesitantly. "I think it's coming from the Freaky house. My friend's brother's cousin said that nobody that has gone in has EVER come back out!"

"And besides, it looks like it might start to rain anytime now," added Tess. "I don't want to get wet, so see ya!" With that, Joan and Tess darted back towards their home.

As they were running, Ally retorted by yowling, "You're both just 'fraidy cats! Don't you know that we have NINE LIVES! I'll be having a BIG adventure while you guys are just licking your paws!"

Ally turned and started to saunter towards the Freaky house. Now that she looked closely at it, it did look kind of scary. But she couldn't just turn and leave someone who was in trouble. As she approached the house, she noticed that there were flashes of light. She stopped, sat down, and began swishing her tail from side to side as she wondered whether she should continue. When she heard the sadness of the cry, she decided that the right thing to do was to help the other cat.

She was at the bottom of the front steps when she finally determined that the crying was coming from under the porch. Flattening her ears, she carefully pushed her head through a crack. It was very dark, but her cat eyes adjusted quickly. ZAP! All of a sudden, there was a lightning bolt that hit Ally square in the chest. The force of the bolt knocked her back, but she landed on her feet. ZAP! Another lightning bolt broke the darkness, but Ally jumped away just in time to miss the blast. She leapt behind an old lawnmower for protection. "Mrow. I'm Delton," said a quiet voice behind Ally. "The bolts of lightning are coming from the Magic Amulet of Catadon, stolen by the evil cat Zantor. The Magic Amulet wields great power to anyone that owns it. I followed him through the dimensional portal to save this Universe."

"Where are you, little kitten?" said a low booming voice. "Show me your fuzzy little head so I can crush you like a little bird! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Delton, what can we do?" whispered Ally.

"Little one, there's not much I can do, since I'm injured. But, if you can get the Magic Amulet from Zantor, then you can save the Universe."

"How can I do that? As soon as he sees me, he'll finish me off with another lightning bolt!"

"Zantor has one weakness. When he does his evil laugh, he always closes his eyes and lifts his head up. If you're quick enough, you can pounce on him before he finishes laughing. That's your only chance."

Realizing that the future of the Universe rested on her, Ally stopped licking her chest and looked Delton straight in the eyes. "Okay."

Just then, Ally's sensitive ears heard the rustling of the underbrush just over one cat length away. "I will crush you! Then I'll crush you again! I am Zantor! Ha ha ..." Before he finished laughing, Ally pounced towards the sound of the voice. Ally landed and raked Zantor's right shoulder with her back claws. "Mraaooow! That hurt!" Zantor cried out. Ally spotted the Magic Amulet around Zantor's neck who was now on his back. She swatted at it with her claws extended, but just before she could hit it, ZAP! The bolt hit her in the stomach. Ally was thrown off balance and blind with pain, but she knew she had to get the Magic Amulet. She stretched out her left paw as far as she could while she rolled in mid-flight. Her claw managed to break the necklace holding the Magic Amulet. As Ally landed on her left side, Zantor leapt on top of her lunging at her throat with his teeth.

"Zantor, stop! It's all over now." At that instant, Zantor lifted his mouth from Ally's throat and slinked backwards. "By the power of the Magic Amulet of Catadon, I hereby sentence you, Zantor, to the Dungeons of Caninia." Ally looked over at Zantor, and his figure slowly darkened until he disappeared. "Ally, the universe will forever be in your debt. Sorry about your coat, though. Your beautiful black coat now has a white spot on your chest and on your stomach. They will be your scars to remind you of your act of bravery." With a flash of light, Delton was no more.

Ally slowly made her way back to the house. When Joan and Tess saw her, they came running out. "Meow! I'm telling mom that you wrecked your coat and you're going to be in big trouble!" Joan said with her nose in the air.

"That's the thanks you get when you save the Universe..." Ally thought to herself as she began grooming.

Copyright © Snow Leopard
April 10, 1998

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was written for the University of Guelph College Royal Cat Show.
One of the categories was for "Best Story" for which Ally's story won First Place.