Reservoir Cats - 12

Fluffy: What’s that strong smell around here?
Nera: Wash your whiskers and then it will get better.
Bobinette: Don’t’ be so cheeky with your little brother. And I can smell it too.
Fluffy: Nera, when it rains you don’t smell so good either. Are you telling me that my whiskers smell.
Nera: Well, you always have your nose in the butter that Mrs. Human gives you in the morning when she has her breakfast. Ok, I take my comment back, but it really does smell around here, something like the river but stronger.
Tabby: I’ve got it – its like sewers. If you go to town you can smell it sometimes when you are around the town cats.
Nera: But we don’t have any sewers
Bobinette: Which means there must be a town cat nearbye.
Fluffy: Ok I will have a sniff, just follow me. I have the best sense of smell around here since I can’t see anything any more.
Bobinette: We are behind you keep going.
Fluffy: It seems to be getting stronger at the back of this tree.
Tabby: And what do we have here. A long brown haired cat that goes by the name of Slimy, I believe.
Slimy: Keep yr nose out of my fur otherwise I’ll send Long Tail Al after ya.
Nera: We don’t have any intention of sticking our noses into your fur – never know what’s living in it.
Bobinette: Just explain what you are doing hiding behind that tree.
Slimy: I was just taking a rest after the long walk from town.
Nera: I don’t think we believe that. Bobinette fetch Romeo, he will have a few better ideas of what to do with this strange creature.
Slimy: I didn’t come ‘ere to be insulted from you lot. Long Tail Al told me to bring a message to Big Tom, but as I didn’t find Big Tom I thought I would have a sit down a rest before going further.
Romeo: What have we got here for a specimen. It does smell a bit strong – is it a cat.
Slimy: Now I’ve ‘ad enuf. Can I go and see this Big Tom geezer or not. I ‘ain’t got all day.
Romeo: Come with me, but have a good lick first. Big Tom doesn’t like smelly cats visiting his villa.
Slimy: Ok, I wouldn’t want to annoy Big Tom now would I? Ha ha
Romeo: And if you carry on speaking in that disrespectful was about our gatto di tutti gatti, we will give you more than a lick to help, might even start sharpening our claws on your fur, although by the look of your fur it hasn’t been groomed for the last couple of years.
Slimy: Do you mind, I always have a good lick and comb on me birfday or if I ‘appen to find a nice lady cat to ‘ave a spin wiv.
Bobinette: Well I suppose there are all tastes, but I somehow don’t think I would fancy a “spin” with this one.
Big Tom: What’s all this noise about and this terrible smell. Seems like the farmers have been doing their annual manure spray on the fields.
Romeo: It’s a town cat that wants to speak to you capo.
Big Tom: I seem to be getting a lot of visitors from town lately. What’s you name and your business?
Slimy: Slimy is me name mate, and Long Tail Al said I should let ya know that ‘e might be interested in a meeting wiv ya round a deserted mouse hole. It would suit ‘im tonight at midnight. Sort of sort things out between us all.
Big Tom: And how comes that Long Tail Al has suddenly had ideas about having a cat talk. I thought he was all for a big fight and taking things over.
Slimy: Well, to admit, ‘e was, but after finking fings over ‘e reckoned we should sit down first of all and see if we could avoid any big cat fight.
Big Tom: Ok, we meet at the third mousehole on the left from the rive bank which is just on the border of town and country.
Slimy: There is one condition. Me boss said that Tabby ‘as got to be there as well.
Big Tom: And why has Tabby got to be there.
Slimy: Me boss says ‘e finks you know why. Somefing about family business.
Big Tom: I will come with Nera, Bobinette and Tabby. Romeo will also accompany me, and our guarda gatto will also be nearby. Who will be accompany Long Tail Al?
Slimy: Well I’ll be there, the boss is lost without me. Sort of an advisor I am. One Eyed Fred and ‘is moll Gladys is coming as well as Charlie. Our black paw gang will also be at a distance as a guard. What ya fink?
Big Tom: Ok, but one false move from Long Tail Al and his days as chief gangster cat in town are over. If anything happens to me my cats will go on a vendetta that your cats in town will never forget. The gatto nostra knows no pardon when the capo di tutti capi is attacked. Capisci?
Slimy: Yer, well, we ain’t exactly softies either.
Big Tom: Romeo – take this smelly cat back to the road to town and tell him to have a good lick before he comes to the meeting tonight.
Romeo: Vieni stinky, sorry Slimy, it’s time to go home.
Slimy: Ok, I can find me own way, just follow the path I took to get ‘ere.

Bobinette: Probably he can smell the way home.
Tabby: Perhaps all he needs is a couple of weeks holiday in country.
Nera: Are you going to move over to make room for him in your bed.
Tabby: You just have to have a bit of understanding for the town cats. I mean cat is just cat, they have a different food choice to us, more rats than mice, and they live more inside than out. I mean when we climb trees, they go on roof tops.
Nera: Sounds like you have a lot of sympathy for the town cats.
Tabby: Well, you just have to accept them as they are, really.
Bobinette: Tabby, Big Tom wants to have a few words with you.

Big Tom: Tabby, As you know we are having a meeting with Long Tail Al and some of his cats this evening and you will be accompanying us, but there is something I have to tell you before we meet.
Tabby: Something important?
Big Tom: On the evening when your mother left Nera’s father, she met another cat on the way home. She took quite a fancy to him and it was mutual, so she eventually had two kittens.
Tabby: You mean that Nera isn’t my sister.
Big Tom: Well, she is, but as it happens with our females they often have kittens that do not look like each other because, well, hem, hem, er they might have two different fathers.
Tabby: And you mean my father was this other cat she met on the way home.
Big Tom: Yes, Tabby, it was Long Tail Al.