"One moment please..."
"Uuuuuhhhhh....blimey"
"Right with you....."
"Ahhhhhhhh, that`s it then...."
Tis not a pleasant tale I have to tell today, but it is another true and memorable one indeed.
Let us go back some years to when I was but a young lad and Benjamin still amongst us.
One pleasant summer`s evening I was home alone and ventured outside for a late night`s walk. The mistress and family were away overnight and Benjamin was staying over the yard, at the Nana`s house.
I trotted along the side of the drive, gazing up at the full moon and smelling the luscious scent of rose in the air. "Ahhhh... the beauty of it all." I thought to myself. "Truly this was a cat`s grandest life. Here, living in the country."
Of a sudden, there was a shuffling and crashing about, coming, it seemed, from the garage.
Now, you must realize, that I was the master cat of these good acres and to have such an invader, such a disturbance was troubling. Off around the corner I crept, using my best mouse catching stance.
The door to the garage was almost closed, but a foot wide opening gaped at the bottom.
"Yes....something has gotten in and is doing no good in there!" I mumbled quietly to myself. "But it must be quite large to be causing such a stir!"
Ever so quietly, I stepped closer and looked inside. All was dark, but being a cat, my eyes were able to desern a rather large creature. Almost dog-like in appearance, up to no good. No good at all.
Now, even at a young age, I was wise enough to realize that this task was none that I could handle.
Off I trotted again, rather briskly this time, to the Nana`s house, where I knew Benjamin lay somewhere inside sleeping.
Now if you`ve read my introduction of myself, you`ll know that I`m annoyingly unable to utter a proper meow, if any at all.
So there I stood in the glow of the moon, at the glass doors, making a rather unmanly sounding "Mee yek" Again I repeated it. "Mee yek" Still nothing. "Mee yek!"
Finally Benjamin dog came over to the door, glimpsed myself pitifully standing there in the dark, pressed his nose up to the glass, sniffed and promptly trotted away again."Well for bloody sake, man! Come back!" I gasped.
I`d all but given up when suddenly back he came, with the Nana, yawning, in tow.
"There you go, Ben. But do hurry up and don`t stay out with Teddy too long." And back to bed she went.
Being we animals can communicate telepathically, I at once told Benjamin my predicament. Off we both went to get the business done. I won`t go into detail here, because whilst I stood outside the garage door, Benjamin went in and shockingly took care of the business in his own way. But the sounds that could be heard. To think that our gentle giant, Benjamin had it in him. Oh my!
Meanwhile, back inside the Nana`s house, the Nana, alarmed at a screaming noise outside, was trying to rouse the Grampa from a sound sleep.
"D! D! Wake up! I think Ben is murdering Teddy!" "Whaaaaaa? Go back to sleep B. Ben wouldn`t murder Teddy" murmered the Grampa, as he fell back to sleep.
But the Nana leapt out of bed anyway and ran toward the door. She stood there a moment, in the now silence and the moon`s soft glow.
Then much to her surprise and relief up to the house sauntered Benjamin and myself. Benjamin was let in and I, who prefer my own home, went there for a peaceful night`s sleep.
The next morning the Grampa opened the garage door and found a deceased racoon, lying peacefully as if in sleep.
And now my dear friends, I shall say "Tot wij opnieuw samenkomen." or "Until we meet again."
~ Theodore
