A Cat Named Pumpkin Goes for a Wander... New Bedtime Story!
Pumpkin goes on an adventure...
Hi, everyone!
Special post today! Once upon a time, I used to write custom bedtime stories based on prompts from clients. My lovely auntie and uncle once ordered one such custom story about their wonderful cat, Pumpkin (pictured below), who once ran away from home and was found a week or so later across town.
This is a two-part story. Here is a link to the finale!
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This story is dedicated to Pumpkin. Part of the family.
Some cats like to spend their days relaxing in cosy cupboards and stretching out in the sun. They like the peace and quiet. They will then eventually come meowing into the kitchen for snacks and pats. Sleep, eat, pats. Repeat. Some cats are completely content with such a routine. For the most part, Pumpkin was one of those cats. He had his cosy nooks and loved a good tan. And his owners, Nicola and Brian, fed him like he was a food critic at their restaurant - divine dish after divine dish, to be catered for at any moment upon request.
Pumpkin had an extraordinary arrangement. His owners were utter suckers. He could get them to do whatever he wanted. And the main thing he usually wanted was food.
Ever since Pumpkin once caught a glimpse of a history show about Ancient Egypt and how cats were worshipped as gods, he assumed his owners Nicola and Brian were Egyptians trying to reconnect with their heritage.
One warm Sunday Pumpkin lounged out on the warm driveway in front of the house. He was not the young cat he once was. He could feel it as he trotted up and down the stairs. He could feel it in his first wake-up stretch of the day. He could feel it now as he lay in the sun.
It was then that a mouse came suddenly rushing down the footpath. Pumpkin watched as the mouse stopped at the end of the driveway for a moment. Then he heard the screech of a cat meowing. The skinny black cat bolted across the road for the mouse. The mouse immediately darted up the driveway.
“Stop that mouse!” said the black cat.
Pumpkin got up to get the mouse but tripped over himself. He scrambled back to his feet, watching the mouse as it sprinted for a hole in the fence. Pumpkin chased as fast as he could and lunged… but the mouse had gotten away and the next thing Pumpkin knew he was lying on his back, dazed, having smashed into the fence.
The black cat came over to Pumpkin and stood over him. “Call yourself a cat?”
Pumpkin slowly got back to his feet.
“Mind your tongue, skinny,” said pumpkin. “I could gulp you in one.”
“Only if you could catch me, which you couldn’t in a thousand years.”
“Whatever,” said Pumpkin, dusting himself off. “You’ll see. One day you’ll see. You can’t be young and nimble forever.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure thing, grandpa.”
“At least I have a home,” said Pumpkin. “That’s what really matters. Look at yourself. I can see your ribs.”
“That’s the price of an adventurous life,” said the black cat. “And I assure you, I’ve had grander meals in my travels than you’ve had in your can-a-day same-meal-everyday life.”
“You don’t know me. I was an adventurer once. I’ve slept out in the cold. I’ve scavenged and hunted. I’ve travelled.”
The black cat turned towards the street. “Come on then. Let’s go adventuring.”
But Pumpkin hesitated.
The black cat teased him. “What? Little old grandpa doesn’t want to miss out on his dinner and pats?”
“Ok. Fine,” said Pumpkin. “Let’s go.”
The two cats started off down the street together.
“What’s your name anyway?” said the black cat.
“Pumpkin.”
The black cat let out a big cackle.
“Too cute,” he said. “My name’s Lucas.”
Lucas and Pumpkin travelled for ages, dodging dogs and darting across busy roads. Pumpkin tried really hard to remember each turn they took so he could make his way home later.
The sun was setting and Pumpkin was getting a bit nervous. Finally, they got to a bunch of restaurants and Lucas led Pumpkin to the car park out back.
“This way,” he said.
The two cats snuck along the car park. Lucas crept up to the back door of one of the restaurants. There was all sorts of noises inside. Lots of clanging and music and humans talking. Pumpkin and Lucas looked in through the mesh of the back door.
“There it is,” said Lucas. “Look at it.”
On the counter inside the restaurant was a skin-on whole piece of salmon.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” said Lucas.
Very quietly, Lucas got up on his back two feet and pulled down the handle of the fly door. He carefully opened the door.
“Go on,” said Lucas. “Let’s see what you’ve got. Grab the fish.”
Pumpkin looked at the fish on the counter and his mouth started watering. It felt like his paws weighed a thousand pounds. He couldn’t move.
“Quickly,” said Lucas.
Pumpkin went for it. Suddenly he dashed into the restaurant kitchen and jumped up onto the bench to get at the fish.
As he sunk his teeth into the salmon, a human dressed in white spotted him and hissed, “Tssssss!”
Pumpkin snatched up the salmon by its tail and ran away back the way he came with the human in hot pursuit. Pumpkin bolted out of the kitchen and Lucas shut the door quickly just after he got out.
The two cats then scrambled across the car park and over a fence. They kept running, jumping fence after fence until, finally, they climbed a tree and decided they were safe.
Pumpkin and Lucas devoured the enormous piece of fish, chomping down every last morsel until they were both so full they couldn’t move. Lucas then started to talk about all of the adventures he had gone on in his life. Pumpkin was happy to sit and listen. Pumpkin hadn’t spent time relaxing and talking with another cat in a very long time. Usually, he was hissing at them to stay away or fighting them. It felt nice to be able to let his guard down and relax with a fellow cat. Under the moonlight, they eventually drifted off to sleep.
Thanks for reading!
Here is a link to the finale:
