Little Lost Plato
By : Plato

Ever since Plato was a day old, he had always went with his mother to the junkyard that they lived close to. His mother would tell him about the Jellicles that lived there when they were not there during the day. When he was a week old, he was old enough at that time to explore around the Junkyard and Jewel never had to worry because she knew her son was safe. While he was exploring, he came upon two other kittens that were about his age. One was white with light brown stripes and a brown patch over his right eye, the other was silver with black stripes and a triangular patch over his left eye.

"Um, hello" Plato said, walking towards the two, who were just about to pounce on something green and hops. Unsuccessful at the attempt of trying to keep the frog from hopping, they turned to see who was sneaking up behind them. "Hello, who are you?" the silver colored kitten asked. "My name is Plato, and who might you be?" The one with brown stripes spoke up, "My name is Tumblebrutus, but you can call me Tumble, and this is Pouncival." "Pouncie for short" Pouncival said. With introductions out of the way, they instantly became best friends.

A few weeks later, Plato couldn't wait any longer to go to the Junkyard because they hadn't been there in a while and Jewel promised that they would go. Although Plato was a month old, he was still too young to find his way to the Junkyard alone. Later that day, they had set out for the Junkyard and on their way, stopped to eat lunch. When they finally arrived, Plato spotted Tumble and Pouncie and immediately went over to them. Jewel went to see Munkustrap just for a few minutes before she went to give Plato a kiss goodbye. "Mom, where are you going?" he asked. I'm going to go see your father. I will be back later, so dont worry."

Well, later came and Plato sat at the entrance of the Junkyard waiting for his mother to return, she never did. Plato couldnt wait any longer and went to find his mother. Munkustrap was to keep an eye on Plato until Jewel returned, but when Munk couldn't find Plato, he asked Tumble and Pouncie if they knew where he was. "We haven't seen him since the sun set" Tumble replied. 'Oh no' Munk thought and went to the Kittens' Chamber to see if Jellylorum was there. "Jelly, were missing a kitten, I need to take Pouncie and Tumble with me to help find him." Jelly nodded, "Ok, just let me get the boys ready." She then picked up her son and his cousin and carried them away. When they were finally ready to go, Munk warned the young kittens to stay close to him and beware of hidden dangers. They both shook their heads in agreement and then left with Munk leading the way.

Plato had searched everywhere for his mother but couldn't find any scent of her. It was getting darker and Plato was cold and hungry. He found a little something to eat and tried to find a way to keep warm, but couldnt until he saw a bright light shining nearby. "A streetlamp," Plato said, "I can stay warm under the light." He then curled up around the base of the lamppost and fell asleep. Later on that night, Munk, Tumble, and Pounce returned to the Junkyard with no clue as to where Plato could be.

Plato awoke after an hour of sleeping to the sound of trucks and cars honking horns. Unable to get up because he was too cold still, he went back to sleep. A while after, a cat was walking around the area hunting for food. She noticed something small by the lamppost and went to examine it. A young kitten with odd markings. A perfect present for the boss, she thought. She picked the kitten up, who was still asleep, and took him to the only place she knew of where he would be safe from Pollicles, Macavity's Lair.

The next morning, Jewel had returned to the Junkyard with Plato's father, a tom that had markings similar to Plato's, his name was Admetus, When asked where Plato was, Munk told them that they could not find him. Jewel was worried then and started to cry. She couldn't think of any ways to help find her son, so the only thing she could do was stay at the Junkyard until he returned.

Macavity was sleeping in his throne room when there was a knock at the door. He then awoke and said, "Come in." "Boss, I have a surprise for you" the white Persian said, and brought the kitten to Macavity's feet and gently laid him down. "Blitzen, what is this?" Mac questioned. "I found him curled up next to a lamppost last night while I was in search of dinner. He looked cold and hungry so I brought him here to warm and feed him. I waited until this morning to bring him to you so that he could get some sleep." "Very well, leave me now. Don't worry, I'm not going to harm the kit." Macavity sat on his throne staring at the kitten who was just waking up at his feet. He looked hard at his markings, black and brown patches on white fur, his mane was red with black patches. What Mac noticed most was the white spot inside a black patch behind the left ear. Plato then sat up looking around the room trying to see if knew where he was. He then focused on the white, orange, and black striped tom who was looking at him. "What is your name kitten?" "Plato, sir." Mac then told him his name and why he was brought here and then laid down to go back to sleep when the kitten pounced on him making a game out of it all day. For once, Macavity didn't care that he was actually happy to have a very playful kitten around. He actually cared for Plato like he was his own.

Years had gone by and at the Junkyard, Jewel still stayed there with Admetus knowing that some day Plato would return. Macavity had taught Plato lots of things but never about the Jellicles. One day, Mac was talking to one of his henchcats when Plato knocked at his door. "Come in" Macavity answered. Plato entered the room. "Ah Plato, what is it you wish to know about today?" Mac asked and summoned the henchcat to leave. "I wish to know about the Junkyard that's a mile from here, sir" the twelve year old tom replied. "Very well," Mac said, "The Junkyard is where a tribe of cats known as Jellicles live. Once a year, they hold their annual ball where they sing and dance. There is this one cat named Old Deuteronomy who chooses a cat to go to the Heavyside Layer to be reborn." "If it's not too much trouble sir, I would like to see what goes on at the ball" Plato spoke. "The Jellicle Ball takes place tonight, I'll take you then" Mac replied. Nighttime came as Macavity and Plato made their way to the Junkyard. Knowing that Macavity was never to enter the Junkyard, they perched on a couple of boxes overlooking the middle of the yard and then the ball began.

Jewel was really worried about Plato now being that she never had the chance to teach him about the ball. Admetus sensed her present state and told her that everything would be alright. Plato watched in amazement as the ball went on and Macavity explained to him what was being done. Plato could never keep his eyes off of a pair of older cats though. The queen was somewhat brown and white with black spots around her neck that almost resembled a necklace, Plato remembered then that his mother had spots that looked like that but he didn't know anything about the tom that was with her. He was white with black and brown patches here and there, his mane was red with black patches. Plato studied the tom closely as he looked over himself to see if they match in likeness. They did, except for one little detail, the other tom didn't have a white spot behind his ear. Just then, the tom looked up because he sensed something warm in the air. Jewel tried to talk to Admetus to find out what he was thinking, but he wouldn't answer. He looked throughout the whole yard until he noticed two cats perched on boxes, one looking straight at him. Their eyes met as Admetus told Jewel to come over to where he was. She did and then saw what he saw.

Macavity then told Plato, "I think its about time for you to meet my brother and his mate." So they jumped down off the boxes, and Macavity was let in to the Junkyard first to be reunited with his brother that he had not seen since they were kittens. Then he turned to Plato and motioned for him to come closer. Plato was a little hesitant at first and hid behind Macavity while being introduced. "This is my brother Admetus and his mate's name is Jewel" Macavity told Plato. 'That name,' Plato thought, I've heard of that name before'. Plato then looked from behind Macavity to see that the queen was looking at him, "Mom?" Plato wondered. "Plato, is that you?" she asked turning him around to make sure she knew that it was by the white spot behind the ear. He had it and she gave him a big hug for all those years that she had missed him. She then turned to Admetus and told Plato that this was his father. Plato turned to face his father and gave him a hug. They all sat down in the middle of the Junkyard as everybody gathered to hear Plato tell of how he was able to survive outside the Junkyard under Macavity's care, whom Plato now called Uncle Mac. When he finished telling the story, he immediately went to find his friends that he knew of from a long time ago. "Hey Pouncie and Tumble!" he shouted. They turned around and Plato started rolling over with laughter. "What's so funny?" Tumble asked. "I see you finally caught that frog you were trying to pin down when I first met you." Tumble looked to see what he was talking about and noticed that Pouncival had the frog in his mouth, then they all started laughing.

From that moment on, Plato would spend the spring and summer months with his parents at the Junkyard and went to stay with Uncle Mac during the fall and winter.