A short story by Mandakay

It was unusually warm for December so they decided to hold their annual gathering on the 24^th and have a Christmas theme. The junkyard was quiet as a line of cars sped past. The drivers were unsuspecting of what was about to begin in that junkyard, but—as many have been in the past—it would be a night that would not soon be forgotten.

After the lights from the last car disappeared, a large gray tabby cat slowly emerged from behind an old, broken washer machine. He slowly walked into the center of the junkyard, carefully looking from side to side. When he got to the center, he turned a complete circle, careful to keep his eyes focused to detect any unfamiliar movement. Satisfied everything was as it should be, he glanced to his right and made a beckoning motion with his paw.

A small black and white cat peeked out from underneath a broken bed and quickly looked around. He then crawled out and quickly trotted over to the larger cat with a big smile on his face. The gray cat nodded and said quietly, "All clear, Mistoffelees."

Mistoffelees nodded and slowly stood on his back feet. He waved his arms once over his head and an unseen light suddenly illuminated the junkyard. The gray cat, Munkustrap, stepped back to give the smaller cat some room. Mistoffelees slowly turned on his left foot and began to chant:

"Jellicle Cats come out tonight, Jellicle Cats come one, come all! The Jellicle moon is shining bright! Jellicles come to the Jellicle ball!"

One by one, the cats came out of their hiding places. The kittens—Victoria, Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima—playfully batted at each other. Jennyanydots and Jellylorum helped Gus, the old theatre cat, over to a paint bucket that served as a chair. Bombalurina, Demeter, and Cassandra staked a claim on the trunk of an old car and chatted about what had happened since the last time they’d seen each other. The twins—Tantomile and Coricopat—slowly sauntered in and took a position by the old radio (one of the highest spots in the junkyard to keep an eye on things).

Munkustrap jumped up on the old tractor tire and scanned the area. Not everyone was there yet. "Where are the guys?" he asked. Mistoffelees climbed up next to him and quickly did a head count. Suddenly, his ears perked up. Munkustrap looked up to Tantomile and Coricopat and saw that they were both on alert. Without alarming the cats on the ground, Munkustrap hopped up onto the car trunk to get a wider view. Then he heard movement. His ears faced forward as he tried to identify the noise.

Demeter stopped talking when she noticed Munkustrap tense up. Bombalurina looked around and started to get worried. Then the rest of the cats heard the rustling. All of the cats nearly jumped out of their fur when a large black cat with a wild lion-like mane jumped out of the bushes.

"The festivities can officially begin, the Rum Tum Tugger is here!" he yelled with his hands in the air. The tension immediately disappeared. Munkustrap rolled his eyes as the other cats gathered around the Tugger. He was always pulling stunts like that.

"Hey, Tugger!" a voice from the bushes yelled. "You gonna help us with this?"

"Yeah, its all clear."

"Gee, thanks," Tumblebrutus said, emerging from the bushes. Behind him were Plato, Admetus, Alonzo, and Pouncival. They were dragging a large pine tree.

"Wow! What’s that for?" Etcetera asked with a giggle.

"It’s a Christmas Tree," replied Pouncival as the five toms set up the tree.

"What are we gonna decorate it with?" asked Jemima.

"Yeah," continued Electra, "we don’t have any decorations."

"Sure we do," Alonzo said, motioning behind him. "They brought the décor."

"Who brought the décor?" Electra asked. "There’s nobody there."

Alonzo turned around and shook his head. "Mungo and Teazer have the decorations—wherever they might be." Then they heard a giggled from the pine tree. Alonzo looked at Plato and the two of them shook the tree. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer tumbled out of the tree. They both had two large bags in their hands.

"Would you guys stop messing around for like five seconds," Plato said with an annoyed tone.

"No wonder that tree was so heavy," said Tumblebrutus, rubbing his back.

"Alright guys and gals," Tugger said, opening the bags, "let’s get this tree decorated!"

The junkyard was filled with the sound of chattering cats and kittens. Everyone got involved in decorating the first ever Jellicle Christmas tree—even Gus put up a few ornaments.

In less than an hour, the cats had all of the garland, lights, ornaments, and icicles on the tree. They all stood back to admire their work. The only thing missing was the star. Tugger handed Munkustrap the gold star. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Munkustrap smiled and accepted the star. He put it in his mouth and slowly began to climb the tree—careful not to damage any of the ornaments or lights. Mistoffelees dimmed the lights above the junkyard as Munkustrap made his way to the top. When he reached the top, he held the star up and glanced at Mistoffelees. The black cat nodded in agreement. As soon as Munkustrap placed the star on the top of the tree, the entire display lit up the junkyard. Munkustrap jumped to the ground as the Jellicles cheered.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the tree and, at first, nobody noticed when Tantomile and Coricopat stiffened and perked up their ears. They both sniffed the air. Then Mistoffelees noticed a strange smell in the air. Munkustrap watched the twins. They were usually accurate at detecting when something was going to happen. He was relieved when he saw Tantomile smile.

"I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!"

The tree was forgotten when the leader of the tribe appeared. Old Deuteronomy was the oldest member of the tribe and the Jellicles loved him like a father. Munkustrap quickly ran to his side to help him finish his journey to the old tractor tire that served as a kind of throne. The rest of the Jellicles crowded around him chattering with excitement. Old Deuteronomy greeted each one of them by name. Then he noticed the tree.

"What is this?"

"We decorated it for Christmas," replied Victoria.

"Yeah, yeah!" Etcetera exclaimed. "Do ya like it?"

"It is beautiful," Deuteronomy replied with a smile. Munkustrap helped him to the tire and turned to address the rest of the cats.

"Jellicle Cats meet once a year, and now that the Jellicle Leader is here, Jellicle Cats can all rejoice!" The cats jumped up and down and scurried to take their places for this year’s performance.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the lights flickered. Loud, evil-sounding laughter could be heard all around them. The toms tried to guard the queens, but they didn’t know where it was coming from. Munkustrap quickly jumped in front of Deuteronomy to shield him from whatever was about to happen. Laughter again.

"Macavity!" Demeter shouted with fear in her voice.

Then the lights went out and the junkyard was left in darkness. A few seconds later, Mistoffelees waved his hand and light was restored. The cats tried to comfort each other.

"Demeter’s gone!" shouted Bombalurina.