Of Cats and Trees

The children always said it was the cat who put them up to it, but their parents scoffed. "Cats cannot speak," the grown-ups said, and would not listen to reason.

For of course, all children know that cats speak, as do dogs, hamsters, snakes and other pets. The trouble with grown ups is they have their heads full of nonsense put in by school, college and office - and they forget the truths they knew in childhood.

Anyway, we, being wiser, can believe the children when they said it was the cat that put them up to it.

Jane and Jeanne were standing under the almond tree when the cat came up to them and mewed. At first, he simply mewed, but then - with a quick glance around - he looked at them and spoke.

"For today, being at the beginning though not quite the start of the august month of August, it is known as nut grabbing day. Grab you, Jane, and you, Jeanne, the nuts above your heads, for on this day nuts grabbed and eaten bring fame and fortune."

Jane, age 8, immediately reached out. Jeanne, at 11, was older and wiser and asked, "Ought we to? Shouldn't we ask someone? Anyway grabbing is rude."

"Not today. At the stroke of noon you must have those nuts going down your throats, my children, or you shall not reap the benefits. Grab and eat. There is no time to be lost."

Both girls were convinced now. They were good at climbing trees and had soon reached the lowest nuts.

"Go higher, go closer to the sun," the cat urged from below.

So they climbed and climbed.

When they could see the sky, they realised they had gone far enough and they began to grab.

Great fistfuls of almonds did Jane and Jeanne grab, and eat, without so much as a by-your-leave.

"Have we eaten enough for the fame and fortune to come, Catty?" Jane called down.

There was no response.

"Catty?" Jeanne shouted, trying to peer between the leaves below her. "Catty?"

But Catty had gone.

"Now my tummy hurts," Jane complained. Jeanne told her not to be a baby, though secretly she would have liked to have said the same thing. Too many almonds spoil the digestion.

But soon, the girls had something more to worry about. They had climbed up, but how were they to get down again? Neither had the courage to attempt it. Jane began to cry.

"Shall we be stuck here forever, till we grow old and grey?" she asked.

Jeanne hushed her, though secretly she was worrying about this herself. She was worrying about something else too. What would they eat and drink up here? The almonds had already caused them to have a tummy ache. They'd need other food. How would they get it?

"I want to go home, I want Mom," Jane cried.

"Shhh. Listen, we're having an adventure and we must be excited and happy."

Now the moment she said this, both girls suddenly felt excited and happy.

"An adventure," Jane yelled, gleefully.

"An adventure," Jeanne echoed, but more loudly than Jane.

Soon, they were singing to the tune of Jingle Bells: Adventure, adventure, adventure all the way, oh what fun it is to pick and eat some nuts today.

"You know, if we are happy and excited, we shouldn't be scared to climb down," Jeanne remarked, after they'd sung the verse five times.

"We shouldn't."

And the moment they said that, they weren't scared any more and climbed down easily and quickly.

They ran straight home to their mother. She had their dinner waiting. It was their favourite thing to eat (baked beans on toast) but not a bite would either girl touch.

And when their parents asked them what the matter was, they said the cat had made them eat nuts, and nobody believed them, which hurt more than their tummies hurt.

But then, grown ups just don't understand and it's no good trying to make them, so Jane and Jeanne swallowed some baked beans on toast and it actually made them feel better. But maybe what really made them feel better was that they also drank a lot of water.

As for Catty, don't worry about him, he lived happily ever after.