December 13, 2019

Today's surprise is a Yule story written by me! It is a new one that I haven't told before, and it has been inspired by some recent events in my personal life. And as you might guess from the picture, this story features a cat! I hope you ike it!

Picture by Piandao

Pepper the Cat

Once there was a small hobbit lass who lived with her pa, ma and their cat, Pepper. Pepper was a black-and -white tomcat, and despite being old already, he liked to play a lot. The lass loved Pepper very much – he used to curl up in her lap when she read him a bedtime story. Yet when he lass fell asleep, Pepper used to sneak out into the night, searching for an adventure.

One autumn, when the lass was reading a story to Pepper, she noticed that the cat was sneezing a bit. “Don’t worry, Pepper,” she said the cat, “it’s only a flu. Just rest well tonight and you’ll be alright tomorrow.” But as the child fell asleep, the cat went outside again, and disappeared into the darkness.

Next morning, Pepper was nowhere to be seen. The lass was worried. Had something happened to Pepper? Maybe the flu had gotten worse? Weeks passed, and still there was no sign of the cat. The parents tried to comfort the worried child. “Maybe the flu got worse, and Pepper went to sleep. He is alright, don’t worry.” The lass nodded, but she was in tears. She knew what it meant – Pepper was no more. He was dead.

Then came the Yule eve morning. The others were happy and expectant, but the lass felt odd. There was something strange in the air. She decided to go outside. When she stepped outside to the porch, she saw something lying there – a toy… a cat toy! It was black-and-white, just as Pepper had been. The lass took the toy and inspected it. It looked a bit ragged, but it was a fine little cat toy. The parents didn’t know how it had ended up on the porch. The lass decided to keep the toy – it reminded her of Pepper.

Late in the evening, after a tasty Yule supper, the lass crawled into her bed with Pepper the Toy Cat. She gave the toy a goodnight kiss and whispered: “I wish you were the real Pepper.”

“But I am,” Pepper the Toy answered, to her surprise! “I thought you could tell.”

“But… how…” the lass asked, all confused.

“You see, there was this wizard who turned me into a toy cat. That cured the nasty flu too! Now, everything is better. I can even talk to you, cats can’t do that even! Bah! It was a bit cumbersome to get here though, but here I am, in yer lap, where I belong to.”

The lass smiled. “I am glad that you are back and happy again, Pepper! I missed you so much.”

“I bet,” Pepper nodded. “Now, we have no time to waste! Get dressed up, quickly, because I need to show yer something!”

The lass dressed up as told, too excited to question the ragged toy cat. Pepper asked her to sneak out and go into the nearby woods. There, they stopped by a forest clearing and hid in a bush. “Now, we just wait a bit. They should be here soon!” Pepper whispered.

And then they came. The lass witnessed how all forest animals, big and small, gathered at the clearing. They seemed to wait for something. All of a sudden, a tall fellow in a brown robe strode out from the shadows, casting a magical light about him. “A wizard?” the lass whispered. “Is that a bird nest on his hat?” Pepper shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I never understood hats anyway. But look now, the moment has come!”

The wizard waved a long walking stick in the air, and the light around him spread. The air filled with glimmering, silvery flakes. “Snow!” the lass thought. She had never seen snow before, but she had heard from it. There was faint music in the air, soothing and joyful at the same time. The animals started swaying and dancing in a circle. “Go ahead, join them!” Pepper said. The lass looked hesitant though. “What if I will scare them away?” Pepper shook his head. “No you won’t! You are a mere child, you are no harm. No one would ever believe you if you told what you have seen tonight anyway. Let’s go!”

So the lass stepped out from hiding and, with Pepper in her hand, she walked to the animals. They looked at her and moved aside to give her a spot in the circle they had formed. However, the brown wizard beckoned her to the middle, allowing her to dance there, surrounded by the animals. She stepped forward, first shyly, but when she started to dance, all worries faded away. “This is so lovely, Pepper!” she said. “I thought you would like it,” Pepper said. “We cats have seen some things you people wouldn’t believe.”

Afterwards, the lass returned to her home, happy with the magical memory. As she lay down in her bed, she asked Pepper: “When I wake up tomorrow, will you just be a toy again? Is this all just magic of the Yule eve, Pepper?”

Pepper smiled. “Some evenings are more magical than usual, that’s true. But I suppose I will stay like this as long as you believe in me. Otherwise, the spell will be broken.” The lass smiled. “Of course I believe in you, Pepper!” Pepper smiled back. “That’s really great.”

((This story has been somewhat inspired by Tolkien’s Roverandom and our late cat, Pesci. He was a black-and-white tomcat who passed away some time ago. My daughter was devastated, she loved Pesci very much. Her friend gave her a similar black-and-white cat toy, which comforted her very much – Pesci is back again. And that gave me an idea for this story.))