Treason in the Realm 2

Treason in the Realm

Written November 2010 

(section 2 of 2)

by Kimberly

            As dusk fell, the guards set out for Pull-Yur-Fur inn.  They were lead by Edgar the Grumpy, a fierce black dog who had won several battles for the king.  Carefully they got in their positions around the Inn and listened intently.  Fur-Ball the Tiger-Eyed was speaking.

            “Now that our plans are made, we must return home and wait until the appointed time.”

            Edgar the Grumpy inwardly sighed.  They had missed it, he thought, now the only evidence was what the chihuahua could give.

            “Wait!” came a sly voice silencing Edgar’s thoughts. “If we are to capture the king tomorrow, who will be in charge of fighting the guards?”

            “You may be in charge of that if you wish,” Fur-Ball easily granted.

            “Thank you,” replied the sly voice.  From within the inn came the sounds of chairs being moved as the cats prepared to leave.  With the inn fully surrounded, Edgar the Grumpy gave the order for his smaller group to advance into the inn.

            “You are under arrest for high-treason!” Edgar declared as they entered. Immediately the place was in an uproar.  One of the guards shouted to another in the midst of it, “It’s well named the Pull-Yur-Fur Inn!”  The cats were screeching, scratching, hollering, meowing, running, and jumping out of the windows and doors.

            The guards' orders were to capture Heart-Breaker, Fur-Ball the Tiger-Eyed, Horrid-Joe, and the five main supporters whose names the chihuahua had given to the captain of the guard. 

            When all the noise finally settled, the Inn was empty and the guards held captive the eight offenders, who were quickly marched to jail to await their trial.

            At the trial the cats could produce no convincing evidence of innocence, so sentences were quickly issued.  Heart-Breaker, Horrid-Joe, and Fur-Ball the Tiger-Eyed were to be drowned in a nearby river the following morning.  The five others simply had to swim across it.

            Despite the chilly morning, many animals arrived to see the last of Horrid-Joe, Fur-Ball, and Heart-Breaker.  The citizens watched with mixed feelings of relief and horror as the three evil plotters sunk beneath the water.  The five other cats then bravely swam across the icy river, but never again wanted to get into water of any sort.

            From then on in remembrance of how the water had closed so coldly over the traitors’ heads, mother cats warned their kittens never to swim in the river.  The tradition soon spread so that within a few short years most cats would avoid contact with any water if possible.  The present generation of cats probably doesn’t have a clue why they hate water, but now you know.

            As the story of how the three traitor cats were caught and drowned was passed on from generation to generation, the tension between dogs and cats seemed to grow.  Many years after the good king had died, a civil war split the kingdom into two nations: one ruled by dogs and the other by cats.  A group of dogs developed that would make sport of chasing cats.  It became such a popular game that these days only especially genial dogs don’t chase cats.

            Whenever you see a dog chasing a cat, or a cat fearfully avoiding water, remember Fur-Ball the Tiger-Eyed, Heart-Breaker, Horrid-Joe, the king who always tried to be just, and Edgar the Grumpy.

The End