Macavity Meets His Match
By. Jemima Mistoffelees
"Wake up, sleepyheads! It's nearly dawn!"
"Huh? What?" Etcetera yawned and looked out the broken window of the car in which she, Jemima, and Victoria slept.
"Gosh, Jellylorum, it isn't even light out!" Victoria exclaimed as she stretched her legs and back.
"How come you always wake us up so early?" Jemima moaned, and very nearly tumbled out the open window.
Blinking her eyes to get used to the slowly brightening morning, she could just make out Demeter and Bombalurina rummaging through trash cans for breakfast, and Munkustrap walking around to make sure that everyone was up. "Why, you ask? Dump trucks, that's why. You like to eat breakfast in the morning, don't you?" said Jellylorum as she leapt off the running board so the three kittens could get out.
As the kittens emerged, Jellylorum turned around and asked, "You always used to be the first ones up in the junkyard. You used to come and wake ME up! Now it's the other way around. How come all of a sudden I have to drag you out of bed in the morning?
Etcetera glanced at Jemima with a look that clearly said "Busted."
Jemima looked at Jellylorum and answered, "Weather?"
"You've been exploring at night, haven't you? I've told you, that's for adult cats only, and strictly off-limits to you kittens! I don't want you three getting lost or kidnapped," she said sternly.
"Yes Jellylorum," the trio said in voices that could only mean mischief.
"Now, PLEASE don't do it anymore," said Jellylorum as she walked off.
The three giggled and winked at each other, and Jemima asked them, "Tonight?"
"You bet!" the other two chorused.
It was a very, very long day. just when it seemed that day couldn't cram in any more hours of daylight, the sun sank behind the rubbish heaps, and one by one the stars turned on their flickering lights, and night blanketed the junkyard. The three mischievous kittens watched intently as the older cats fell asleep, and then crept out silently. None of the other cats could see them, night was too good a cover. But they did have to be extra quiet, especially around Munkustrap's corner, and Mistoffelees' top hat. Soon they were at the gates of the dump, and Jemima whispered, "Let's go!"
The night was perfect. They prowled the streets, peeped in windows, and slinked around corners. As they were walking back to the junkyard, the trio heard a faint rustling in the nearby bushes. "What was that?" whispered Victoria, frightened.
The rustle came again, but was much closer this time. "It's probably just Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. They love playing tricks on us. Remember that time they dropped in front of us and scared us half to death?" replied Jemima as she scanned the area.
"Oh, I want to go home!" whimpered Etcetera.
"We're nearly there. Just follow me," answered Jemima, and they began crawling past the suspect bushes.
Suddenly, Jemima heard a short shriek, followed by muffled meows, and then silence. she whirled around, and saw no Victoria or Etcetera! "Oh no!" she thought.
They had been kidnapped! She searched fiercely, trying to find a clue, but found nary a paw print nor scratch mark in the dirt. She then remembered a phrase that she hoped she would never say, or even think about. "MACAVITY'S NOT THERE!" she screamed.
She stared at the sky, at the purple clouds gathering over the silver-lilac moon, as if looking for a clue. Jemima had two choices: look for Etcetera and Victoria herself, risk getting kidnapped, and be busted by the adults, or she could summon the adults, and still get busted. She chose her first choice, and started walking. Jemima kept telling herself to think like Macavity. Suddenly she hit upon something: if I was Macavity, I wouldn't go away from the witness, I'd go to where she was going! Jemima ran off toward the junkyard, and found it completely silent. Too silent. Suspiciously silent. "What is wrong, little kitten?" said a kind voice behind her.
Jemima jumped in surprise, and found Old Deuteronomy behind her. "Oh, nothing, nothing," she said, and walked around him. She examined him as she walked. It looked like Old Deuteronomy, even smelled like him, but..... Then she hit upon it. Looking at the shaggy gray coat, she saw a black and orange tail peeking out from under it. Hissing, she leapt onto his neck, all the while screaming "MACAVITY!!!"
"What the?"
But before Macavity could throw her off, Jemima had ripped off the disguise. She fell back, and found herself face to face with the infamous criminal. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the frightening figure advanced toward her. She screamed loudly, but to no avail. She screamed again, even louder this time, but still nothing happened. All that she heard was Macavity's evil laugh. "You're looking for your Jellicle tribe? I kidnapped them all, and now you little snoopy, sneaky furball will join them!"
Macavity grabbed Jemima by the nape of her neck and threw her into an abandoned Jeep nearby, locking the door after him. "OOF!" At least I landed on something soft, Jemima thought.
She righted herself, and looked around her. "GET OFF ME!"
The exclamation was so sudden that Jemima fell off the seat and hit the floor. Staring at her was the face of Victoria. "Okay, genius, you got us into this mess, now how are you going to get us out of it?"
All Jemima could say was, "Where's Etcetera?"
"Over there," said Victoria, pointing at a large overturned barrel.
Looking closely, Jemima saw that it had been nailed shut.
"You know what's going to happen to this Jeep, that barrel, that big trash can over there, and that box closed and sealed with tape? The dump trucks are going to take them in the morning and destroy them. With us in them."
Suddenly, Jemima thought of a plan. "No they're not!" she said as she jumped frantically about the car.
She swatted every button, pulled every knob, but nothing happened. "What are you doing?" asked Victoria, curiously.
"Looking for the unlock button," answered Jemima, but a little silver knob caught her eye.
She ran over to it and pulled it. She heard a soft click. The door was unlocked. "Help me pull this handle, Vic! we can escape and help the other cats!"
The two wrapped their paws around the black handle, and pulled with all their strength. Just when it seemed the handle could go no further, the door swung open, catapulting them across the dump, only to smack into the barrel where Etcetera was enclosed. "Help! Help! HELP!!!!!!!" cried Etcetera and a few other voices inside the barrel.
Jemima recognized them as none other than Demeter, Bombalurina, and Jellylorum. "Don't worry! We'll get you out!" yelled Victoria through a tiny hole in the barrel.
"Wait a second. Let me have the hole. I've got another plan," Jemima said.
She looked inside at the prisoners. "Listen, if you want to get out, just do as I say. All you four have to do is run, like you're outside. Just keep running. That's it." Jemima's plan was simple, but Victoria saw the significance of it.
In a few minutes the barrel was rolling rapidly toward the dump's high walls. "Just keep going! You're nearly there!" panted Jemima, who was running alongside the barrel.
"Nearly where?" Etcetera asked, but her question was answered soon enough. There was a loud SMASH! as the barrel splintered into a hundred tiny pieces.
When the four invalids finally untangled themselves, Etcetera ran over and hugged both Victoria and Jemima. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed as she kissed Victoria.
"Don't thank me, thank Jemima. She's the one with the brilliant plans," exclaimed Victoria.
"Don't go thanking me just yet," said Jemima worriedly. "We still have to save Old Deuteronomy, Munkustrap, and Mistoffelees. And the whole Jellicle tribe. We don't want Macavity leading the Jellicles."
All six of them shuddered at the thought. They each looked at each other, and then at Jemima. "All right then, let's do it!" Jemima said. "Jellicles forever! Macavity is going down!"
^..^
(Part 2)
By: Jemima Mistoffelees
"Now wait a minute, Jemima," said Jellylorum after their daring proclamation. "Just how are we going to overcome the Hidden Paw himself?"
"Yeah! What kind of plan do you have now?" exclaimed Etcetera.
Jemima glanced at Bombalurina and Demeter. They were holding hands and shaking with fear. Jemima had heard a rumor that the two had been kidnapped by
Macavity when they were kittens, and knew everything about him. They had told the rest of the tribe about Macavity at the Jellicle Ball, Demeter had even
unmasked him, but nothing could wipe out their terrible memories. Jemima thought hard, because the two adults could have a benefit from their experience.
"Demeter, Bombalurina, I'm going to give you a tough job," Jemima said to the pair. "You two know everything there is to know about Macavity, right?"
They both nodded, and Demeter, in a faint voice, said, "What is it?"
"You are going to find Macavity and sweet-talk him into wandering over into this corner. Victoria, Etcetera, Jellylorum, and I will do the rest," answered Jemima confidently, knowing that convincing males was something that Bombalurina did best.
Demeter nodded quietly, and they walked off, holding each other tightly. Jemima looked at the three remaining Jellicles, and whispered a few words to them. They
nodded and ran off, showing Jemima that they understood her plan. Jemima turned around and saw the plastic box that held more cats. She tiptoed over and
examined the box. Then, speaking loudly, for there was no opening, she said, "Who's in there?"
"Jemima? Is that you?" said a voice that was unmistakably Munkustrap's voice. "How did you get out there?"
"Listen, Munkustrap, how many others are in there with you?" asked Jemima urgently. She had to hurry.
"Five, that I can see: Coricopat, Pouncival, the Tugger, Alonzo, and Tumblebrutus," answered Munkustrap.
Six adults! That was enough to tip over the box! Even though the lid was sealed with duct tape, enough catpower could burst the lid open. "Okay, listen up: you guys
need to tip the box over, and then push against the lid. I mean, REALLY push. If that doesn't work, don't despair! I'll get help!" said Jemima.
Oh, would this plan work? She ran to the side of the box, and heard scratching sounds and several "Oofs" as the captives struggled fiercely.
Just as Jemima was beginning to worry, one end of the box started to lift lowly, and finally the box was on its side, with the lid facing Jemima. She breathed a sigh of
relief. Now on to Step Two. "Now push! PUSH! Pushpushpushpushpushpushpushpushpush!" she cried.
Time was running out. As she watched, the lid began to bulge, and the tape to stretch. Jemima squeezed her eyes shut, crossed her claws, and opened them again.
There was a SNAP! as the tape broke! The lid opened automatically, and what looked like a huge ball of multicolored fur tumbled out. It stopped, with the
exception of a brown and white cat who kept on rolling. This was, of course, Tumblebrutus, and when he finally stopped, he came walking back, looking rather
dizzy. As it turned out, the box had held many more than six cats. It held all of the remaining Jellicles, except for one: Mistoffelees. "Two down, one to go! Follow
me!" exclaimed Jemima excitedly, eyeing the trash can which held Mistoffelees.
She ran toward the trash can, and stopped to check on the three females' progress on Jemima's plan, which turned out to be almost done. When she reached the
trash can, Jemima heard a lot of strange sounds, and she knew that Misto was trying to free himself. She summoned the other cats to help pry off the lid, but it was
snapped tight. "It's useless," Jemima thought. "We'll free him once Macavity is gone," she told the other cats.
She instructed them to hide, and Jemima ran back to the corner where the trap was set. "Is it done?" asked Jemima urgently.
"Yep, and it works perfectly. We even tested it," answered Victoria confidently.
Now all the four could do was wait. Jemima sat by the trigger band holding the device taut. She watched the scene intensely, waiting, waiting... "Oh, why don't sit
down here, Macavity?" came a cooing voice.
It was Bombalurina, and in perfect character. Jemima couldn't believe that they had actually convinced Macavity that they were evil! This was gonna be good. "Why,
thank you," said Macavity as he settled onto the target spot. "You know, you two would be perfect additions to my agency. You can deceive and steal! how does
that sound?"
This was moment they had been waiting for! In a flash, Jemima cut the string with her claws, the trigger was released, and the catapult that she and the other three
has constructed launched the most evil cat ever into the velvety sky. NOW who was the clever Jellicle? "We did it? We actually did it!" Jemima sand loudly, feeling
as though she could fly into the night, just like Macavity had done.
"We couldn't have done it without your cleverness," said Victoria happily.
"Oh, Jemima," said a voice behind her.
She turned around, and was swept up into Bombalurina's arms. Both she and Demeter kissed her affectionately, and Jellylorum rubbed up next to her, purring
warmly. "Stop! Let me see the cat who has freed us from Macavity's clutches!" called a deep voice.
The other cats parted, making way for Old Deuteronomy. He gazed at Jemima and smiled. "The youngest minds are the sharpest," was all he said, and hugged her.
Suddenly there was a shout, and Misto broke out of the trash can with a great CRASH! "I knew that it would work!" he cried out.
The other cats stared at him, and Misto flushed bright red and crawled off. Old Deuteronomy looked at Jemima. As I said, the youngest minds are the sharpest," he
chuckled.
THE END
NOTE: Macavity did not die. He landed only a few miles away, and was back to his crimes in no time.
take me back
