Of Cats, Cold Fronts and Campfires

"Mom, Mom!"

"What is it dear, I thought you'd gone to bed!"

"I had gone but then I remembered and I woke up."

"Remembered what?"

"I'm a cat."

"What?"

"In the play tomorrow. I'm a cat. Make a costume."

"You can't tell me to make you a costume at 9.30 PM ..."

"I'll wait half an hour and tell you at 10 PM then."

"I have an old cat mask somewhere and you can wear your black T-shirt and your Dad's belt as a tail. I'll safety pin it on for you."

George's teacher wisely held her silence when she beheld his feline costume the next day. It was obvious to her what had happened, and years of handling primary school students and their parents had taught her when to keep her lips firmly sealed, and upturned in a smile.

The primary school were doing three short plays that year. The one George was in was about animals. Then there was the one his best friend Harold was in, about climate. The third was the one Susie was in, about holidays. Susie was the campfire in the 'outdoor fun' scene. What with getting the props and settings ready for all these, George's teacher (Miss Bertha) wasn't willing to go into the finer points of feline costumes.

It was a pity she was in this mood, because had she checked the mask, she would have found that the eye holes hadn't been cut properly. In fact they hadn't been cut at all. But she didn't check it and George's mother, in her harried frame of mind, hadn't asked him to try it on.

Now, the climate play was on first and Harold was 'the cold front'. His mother, fortunately, had had ample notice and had managed to make him a lovely cloak to personify this abstract concept.

But in spite of his lovely cloak, Harold was nervous. You see, the bright lights frightened him and the black darkness backstage frightened him even more.

What could one best friend do for another?

"I'll take you on to the stage, hiding behind your cloak," George the cat promised Harold the cold front.

The play began. The warm ocean currents, the summer breezes, the gentle rains all did their bit. The play progressed and Harold heard his cue. He grabbed George's paw and began to make his way on stage.

"I say, I can't see," George whispered desperately.

"You've got to take me on to the stage," Harold moaned.

"Everything is black, where are we?"

"That's the line I've got to exit at, and I haven't even entered!"

"We'll find it, we'll find it," said George the lost cat.

There was applause. Neither the cold front nor the cat realised what that meant. It meant that Harold's play was over and Susie's had begun.

Susie's play, about holidays. Act 1, Scene 1, about beach holidays, Act 1 Scene 2 about mountain holidays ... and then Susie the campfire's big scene ... camping in the open air.

Susie was warming up nicely to her role when Harold stumbled on stage, followed by a bedraggled cat. Suise fell over. The campfire went out.

The cold front finally moved through.