Gale Goes on a Trip (Part One)

Banana and Cheese were lazing in front of the open screen door one summer afternoon when Twitch wandered up .

“Hey!” Twitch poked her nose against the screen. “I saw one of your people leaving with one of those scary bags on wheels a while ago…I think it was about the same time my kittens caught their first mouse. Why was she pulling one of those things behind her? Haven’t you warned her how dangerous those bags can be to cats and their tails?”

Cheese raised his head, yawned, thought about going back to sleep, but remembered how persistent Twitch could be when she wanted to hear a people story.

“Gale said, as she scratched my head that morning, she was going to an air something, so she could fly to see Erika. Erika lives somewhere-not-here in a house called England.” Cheese flexed his paws.

“Wow,” exclaimed Twitch, “That must have been a really big bird, to carry Gale and her wheely bag all the way to that other house.”

“Yeah,” piped in Banana, who was eager to tell Twitch things that Twitch didn’t already know, “Gale told me it was across the water!”

The three cats sat and thought about this for a while, because, after all, it was a hot day and it was the cat-napping time of day.

Banana, who couldn’t stand the silence, continued the story, “Gale said she saw lots of kinds of

people, wearing different types of clothes from many countries. She said Erika took her all over the city in double-decker bus, but they also walked a lot; in fact, she says everyone walks because it is such a big city—she told us about these horrible things they put babies in—called “buggies”. I mean, with all those wheels, can you imagine how nervous those cats in that England must be?”

When Banana paused to take a breath, Cheese jumped up, eager to tell Twitch more about his person’s trip. “Gale and Erika went on a train—it’s something like a big, noisy car that runs on tack….no, that’s not right…a track—to visit some friends. That trip sounded boring, because their friends don’t have cats. But they do have big back gardens, and there was a park with a pond and ducks and squirrels and whales….no, that’s not right—a PLACE called Wales.” Cheese, embarrassed to realize that in his excitement, he was stretching all the way up the screen, pretended he meant to do that, then stretched back the other way, with his tail-covered behind sticking straight up.

Banana was shaking from side to side, eager to continue the tale. “Erika also took her to a very green place—they had to walk across a bridge (Cheese sighed at the thought of more water)—and…and…they saw SHEEP!!!”

At this, the three tumbled over, exhausted by all the new thoughts they were having. Traveling did make one tired!

Just before he drifted off to sleep, Cheese thought of one more thing.

“Twitch, Gale brought chocolate back to share with her friends!”

The three cats made gagging noises.

“Ewwwww….that stuff makes me sick!” Twitch shuddered. “ Maybe those other people really aren’t her friends…”

Twitch spotted a butterfly, and leapt off the step.

“Wait,” meowed Banana, “…there’s more.”