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Yesterday, Meowmie decided to let our sister Gemma spend a little time outside. It was the first time in three days that she had allowed Gemma to go out. Previously, she had thought it too cold.When Meowmie opened our front door, Gemma crept outside and then sat for a few minutes on our doorstep, sniffing the crisp, clean, fresh February air. Seeing her, Jason stopped his gambolling on our front lawn and trotted over to say hi. If I had not been hunting greeblings in our heather bed, I would also have gone over and said hi.
When Gemma had had enough of sitting, she looked up at Meowmie, who was standing just behind her in our hallway, and heard her say that it was OK for her to go for a little walk provided she allowed Meowmie to accompany her. Gemma thought about this for a few seconds then set off at a wobbling trot down our garden path heading towards next door's garden. Meowmie called after her to slow down but either Gemma did not hear her or chose to ignore her. Now Meowmie is not built for any speed so Gemma easily beat her to next door's front garden. Once there, she slipped through the locked wrought-iron gate that leads to its back garden.
Suddenly, I heard Meowmie scream "OH NO" and saw her hurrying down next door's path towards the front door of next door's house. Thinking that greeblings were attacking Meowmie, Jason and I immediately rushed to her aid. But we were too late. Meowmie had vanished.
Then we heard what we thought was her voice coming from next door's back garden. The voice was softly calling "Gemma, Gemma, come here sweetie". I suggested to Jason that we investigate but he, being a wise cat, replied: "better not, it could be a trap". So, instead we went off to hunt down the greeblings who had escaped from our heather bed and were now wrecking havoc in next door's front garden. Quickly finding one, I gave chase through next door's garden gate; the same gate through which Gemma had passed a few minutes earlier. There, I was surprised to come across Meowmie trying to crawl underneath the hedge that separates next door's back garden from ours. Now Meowmie is not agile and the sight of her trying to squeeze under a hedge made me laugh and I thought I should show her how easily it could be done. However, just as I was about to go and do this, Gemma came scurrying out from underneath the hedge, at a point just out of Meowmie's reach, and hurried past me. As Gemma left the place where Meowmie had discovered her, Meowmie swore.
When Meowmie emerged from next door's back garden a few minutes later, she had bits of twigs in her hair and mud on the knees of her trousers. Jason and I thought she looked very funny.
Meowmie saw us looking at her but chose to ignore us. Instead, she called Gemma. When Gemma did not immediately appear, Meowmie called again. Again, Gemma did not appear. Now, Meowmie began to look worried. She did not want Gemma to be outside without her and thinking that Gemma might be trying to avoid having to go back indoors by hiding in the bushes that border ours and next door's front gardens, Meowmie began searching through them. Jason and I pretended to help.
Little did Meowmie know that we knew that Gemma was already safely back indoors.
Dee Dee.
Copyright © Sheenah Large
February 20, 2003
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