I'm not sure I can prove my theory but I'll throw it out for discussion.

It is my belief that there are Greebling Universities which are hidden in homes, such as the Yehudah home. Where else could they learn advanced mischief? Although greeblings aren't malicious, I think that if they see an opportunity to create mischief in a home they take advantage of the opportunity. I think that when they graduate they are given a list of homes that are open opportunities for such mischief.

I think a graduate of Greebling University has moved into our home when we weren't watching.

This evening I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so I decided to sauté some shrimp in olive oil and herbs and toss it with some angle hair pasta. Since the shrimp was frozen I boiled it quickly so that I could shell it. Hobbes smelled the shrimp and joined me in the kitchen. I thought that Hobbes wouldn't eat cooked shrimp (he never has before) so I ignored him. To get my attention, he jumped onto the working table at one end of the kitchen. This table is basically the cat's table. Their food is stored there, I prepare their food on that table and they are allowed to sit on the table to watch outside. But it also puts Hobbes on a level to demand his share of any food he might want.

I had removed a rather large, wooden, Lazy Susan (a turn-table type thingie) from the top of the refrigerator and had placed it on the table and had not gotten around to storing it somewhere else. So Hobbes got onto the table and I cut some shrimp and put it on the Lazy Susan for him to eat. Selena realized he was eating something so she came into the kitchen to see if she wanted some. She turned her nose up at the shrimp but was interested in the fact that Hobbes was on the table. In retrospect, I don't remember a time when I've ever seen her on the table before. So she jumped up and began to explore. Hobbes walked to the edge of the table to ask for more shrimp. A request I was trying to ignore. Selena got onto the Lazy Susan and sat down to watch. My guess is that the Master Greebling's eyes began to glitter with mischief. Hobbes walked around the table (a round table) and walked over the Lazy Susan before deciding that he obviously had to take matters into his own paws if he wanted more shrimp. So he gauged the distance between the table and the counter, determining where he might be able to land and how much push would be required. (I could almost hear the Greebling giggle).

I glanced over at the table just in time to watch as Hobbes pushed off for his leap to the counter. The problem is that his back feet were on the Lazy Susan. The same Lazy Susan that Selena was sitting on. He pushed off and spun the Lazy Susan. A startled, most distressed Selena was spun across the room. But the greebling wasn't finished. The action of the Lazy Susan spinning caused Hobbes' leap for the counter to be short by a few inches. His front legs made it to the counter but his back legs didn't make contact. He grabbed for purchase and wrapped his paws around the tupperware container of dry cat food and when he fell to the floor the container with about 2 lbs of dry cat food fell with him. And of course that silly greebling made sure that the top came off the food container. So I ended up with one dizzy cat and one cat with injured pride sitting in the middle of a pool of 2 lbs of dry cat food.

I hope the cats recover their composure soon and start hunting that greebling with a Master of Mischief from the Greebling University of Yehudah.

Copyright © Julie Cook
November 5, 2002