"Uh, I'm not sure," he answered. "She's probably in trouble again."
Mama Miao looked down at Sheegwa, who was looking up at her with big, bright eyes. "Mama," Sheegwa said, "Does she get her curiosity from you, or from Baba?"
Her mother laughed, recalling their past. "Both, I'd say." She stood, turned to leave and walked down the stairs with the intention of finding Sagwa. Coming down the stairs and toward the archway that led into the living room, she saw the triplets, the Foolish Magistrate and Tai-Tai.
"But Baba, I like these cats," Ba-Do was saying sadly. "We've had them forever..."
"I'm sorry, my sweet Ba-Do; but Mama Miao and Baba Miao are getting too old. They could have trouble writing in just weeks." Mama was glaring at the Magistrate - she was not too old!
"Then why can't we keep them till then?" Huang-Do asked.
The Magistrate couldn't look at his girls anymore. He turned away. "Because the kittens must go, too. I will not have them separated."
"Baba!" all three girls exclaimed.
"My decision is made!" he thundered, as commandingly as one so foolish could manage. "Not only for that reason, but they are terrible mouse-catchers." He still wouldn't look at his daughters. "Now, off to bed with you."
The three girls walked out of the room with strides of disbelief and sadness. Turning to watch them go, Mama was shocked to see Sagwa standing behind her; stiff as a board, tail curved elegantly in the air but not moving. Her eyes were wide open - and so was her mouth.
"Sagwa!" Mama trotted over to her eldest daughter.
"Mama?" Sagwa unthawed and looked at her. "Where will we go?"
Mama found herself unable to answer. She stood and ran for the nearest door leading to the yard. "Wim Bao?" she called. "Wim Bao, I need to see you right this instant!"
Sagwa stood and walked indolently up the stairs. Approaching the several-suitor cat bed, she sat and watched her siblings sleep - or try to, whichever the case. Should I tell them? she thought. After a moment of hesitation she decided not to. She leaped up into her bed and didn't even bother turning around before she lay down. She just curled up and let her tail dangle down onto the floor.
Meanwhile, in the palace yard, Mama had located Baba Miao. He was sitting by the pond with Yeh-Yeh and Nai-Nai.
"...And being in a place as beautiful as this one," Baba said. "I want my kids to cherish it, always."
"I don't remember a time when I was happier," Yeh-Yeh said.
Mama moved in. "You don't know," she said, barely able to speak. Everyone looked at her.
"Know what, my dear?" Baba asked.
"We cats...will be replaced. We have to leave the palace."
That got their attention. Yeh-Yeh began to laugh. "I'm sure there's some mistake."
Mama's eyes narrowed again. Now she was mad. "There's no mistake!" she grumped. "I'm not deaf."
"You heard it for yourself?" Nai-Nai asked.
"Yes. The Magistrate thinks Wim Bao and I are too old! Can you imagine something so silly?"
"In fact I can," Nai-Nai answered. "He's been foolish longer than I've been alive."
"When are we being tossed out onto the street, like a sack of bad potatoes?" Baba asked.
"I didn't catch a date," Mama answered. "But I imagine it would be as soon as tomorrow."
"Oh my. That's awfully soon..." Baba said.
Mama nodded. "Sagwa already knows."
"What about Sheegwa and Dongwa?" Yeh-Yeh asked. "If it's happening tomorrow, they should know now."
"Right now they're asleep," Mama answered. "Don't you worry, Yeh-Yeh. We'll tell them!"
Nai-Nai stood and led the other three cats to the palace. They all paused in a group on the stairs of the long corridor; through which Tai-Tai and the Magistrate were passing by. "What about the pet accessories?" Tai-Tai was asking. "Are they good enough for our new cats?"
"No! Any cat to live with a dignitary such as myself is to have new."
As the pair disappeared, the cats gathered in the corridor.
"I'm sorry I doubted you, Shao Fun," Yeh-Yeh apologized to Mama. "It seems our work is done here."