It has been a long time since I last did an Oliver And Company fanfic, and I've never done any drabbles before, so I'm going to do my first drabbles by mixing my favorite Shakespeare plays with the 1988 gem that is Oliver And Company! Each drabble will have the theme of a different Shakespeare play, and be focused around a different character. I think you'll be able to tell which play and which character is focused on in each one quite easily. Each one will also take place either during or after the movie, depending on which dateline sets the trend better. I hope you all like it, especially those of you who like Oliver And Company and/or William Shakespeare plays! That Oliver And Company is based off of Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens, one of the few English authors who could rival Shakespeare, makes it all the more fitting I'd do this.
THINGS TO NOTE:
Each drabble is its own, unique little story. There is no continuity connection once, not even between a certain two separate ones or anything like that. These are drabbles in the strongest sense of the word.
I own none of the characters. They all belong to the Oliver And Company franchise. I don't own any of the Shakespeare plays I'm spoofing or the quotes and themes thereof, either, for as I think you can already tell, they were written by William Shakespeare and are thus his work and ideas, not mine.
Shakespeare In The Style Of Oliver And Company!
The following story takes place one week after the events of Oliver And Company
Story 1: The Mewer Of New York
Why was it that cats were looked down upon and derided so by the dogs of New York City? What was wrong with cats? Nothing was wrong with cats! Even after word got out that Oliver, a sweet, nice and lovable(to say nothing of cute and previously mistreated)ginger kitten had played a major role in the demise of Sykes and his two devildog Dobermans, cats were still regarded by the majority of dogs as inferiors and pests. Things to be scorned and laughed about at best and things to attack and terrorize, and sometimes even kill, at worst. But there was not a single reason for it. Cats never tried to attack dogs, and were frightened of them due to their all around cruel and unfair treatment. Sure, there were a few dogs who were nicer to cats, such as the five canine friends of Oliver the kitten and his fellow Foxworth pet Georgette, but all six of those pooches at, for a time, seen him as someone to come down on in some form or another, in spite of this not being the case anymore.
It had been a week since Oliver moved in with Jenny, and though he had a much happier life where Georgette was much closer to him than before and vice versa, he knew that there were a lot of dogs out there who enjoyed picking on cats and talking about their flaws, which they all tried to find plenty of in those cats, be they kittens or full grown ones. One day, he saw a totally innocent, grey female kitten being cornered and terrorized by a bunch of dogs, and for obvious reasons, she was helpless against them and there was nothing she could do to protect herself. At this point, Oliver couldn't take it anymore. Especially since he was not only a cat, but no stranger to bigotry, bullying, injustice and maltreatment himself. So he took off out of Jenny's mansion in addition to running to where he saw the grey kitten being tormented, and screamed out at the top of his lungs: "STOP!"
The dogs all turned around to see who had shouted that, and the grey kitten looked to see it had, in fact, been Oliver. Since she could tell he was a kitten, though a ginger one and not a grey one like her, she knew he had to be trying to help her, and she was thankful for it. But right now, she knew she had to do anything possible to help Oliver in the new predicament he'd put himself in for her sake. Sure enough, one of the dogs, a golden lab, asked: "Excuse me? What did you just say, kid?" "Did you tell us to stop, runt?" asked a golden retriever. "Yes, I told you to stop!" Oliver cried. "What did she, I or any cat ever do to you? You dogs treat us like dirt on a daily basis for no reason other than that we're different! Why does being a different species and having a different appearance make us any worse than you? Or anyone else, for that matter? Or in any way bad?" The dogs got quite confused and surprised at such words from a kitten, of all things, and Oliver, able to tell he suddenly had their attention, continued his philosophizing.
"How is it that cats are looked as the sort of thing to be hated by dogs like you? What is your problem with us? We live on this Earth just like you do! So what if we're not dogs and of a different class of animals? Have not a cat paws? Does a cat not have whiskers? Do cats not have claws? Teeth? Eyes? Fur? A tail? Have not a cat feelings? Have not a cat organs, dimensions, senses, needs, desires, passions, affections, fears? Are we not fed with human provided food as a dog is? Are we not harmed with the same devices and hydrated with the same water as a dog is? Are cats not burned by the same heat as you dogs? Frozen by the same cold? Treated by the very same vets? Do cats not catch the same illnesses that dogs do? If you frighten us, do we not jump? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you cut us, do we not bleed? If you dirty us, do we not reek? If you put us in a cold room, do we not shiver? If you stroke and kiss us long enough, do we not fall asleep? Why should we have any fewer rights than you dogs do, if we cats, despite obvious differences, still manage to resemble you so?"
"You know, I hate to admit it, but that kid is actually kind of making sense!" a German Shepherd told the others. "Yeah, but really. We're gonna just leave because one kitten has what might be a good point?" argued a pug. The grey kitten, seeing a chance, quickly ran through the space between the legs of these dogs and only stopped when she was next to Oliver, saying after that: "Thank you for helping me, uh…" "Oliver, and no problem, but we're not out of the woods yet, I'm afraid." Oliver replied. "Understood, Oliver." she responded. "My name is Liza, by the way." "It's nice to meet you, Liza." Oliver told her. "So, Oliver and Liza, huh?" asked a Cocker Spaniel. "That's the name of those two runtlets, is it?" put in a malamute. "Okay, here's the deal, little kitty cats." Then a Daschund informed them: "We can't believe we have to admit to this but the ginger boy there made a pretty damn good point. So we're willing to let you two go and also never bug you again…ON ONE CONDITION."
"What's that?" asked Oliver and Liza in unison, confused and surprised at what had just been told to them. "Prove that you could do to us what we could do to you." a St. Bernard said a second before walking over and lying on his side. He then further explained: "We dogs always did attack you cats, hurt you bad even if not injure you. If one of you proves you have the guts and the skill to deal one injury to one of us, then you're off our hook for good." "What? Wait, I don't think that's any way to settle this!" Oliver exclaimed. "And what would you have us do to you, anyway?" Liza asked the St. Bernard. This was when the St. Bernard replied: "Oh, it's most certainly the perfect way to settle this, and what you should do, if you can, is this. Cut from me a pound of flesh. No more, no less. No blood, fur or bone, but only flesh. If one of you succeeds in the act of doing this with your claws without drawing a drop of blood from me or making me lose any of my furs, then we'll be off your backs for all time and my fellow dogs will take me to a vet for the wound to be treated. It'll be the perfect penance for us always hounding you, ha, ha, if it's something one of you can do, that is." Oliver and Liza found themselves in a dilemma, and as they were trying to think of something to say or do, luck turned in their favor.
"Ah, so it would seem an irresistible force just found itself an immovable object, eh?" asked a husky. But Georgette suddenly came over and exclaimed: "There you are, Oliver! Shame on you! Running out of the house all of a sudden like that and worrying Jenny sick! She's been searching all over the mansion for you! You come back home right now!" "Georgette?" let out Oliver. "But I was just trying to help Lizah here!" "These dogs were terrorizing me! He got here just in time to stop it, and now they're daring us to cut a pound of flesh from one of them if we want their guarantee they won't bother us anymore!" Liza told her. "Well, I'm going to settle the argument, then. I may not care a lot for cats, but Jenny sure does. And I'm sure she'll be very pleased to have another kitten, so I'm taking you both home." She bent over and said: "Climb on my back, both of you!" "I have a new home now?" Liza asked as she and Oliver obeyed. "Jenny is a sweet, nice, caring girl who loves cats and whose parents don't spend a lot of time with her." Oliver replied. "She'll be more than happy to help you. She helped me in my time of need and I became her pet. Don't see why you should be any different."
"That's wonderful! Thank you, Oliver! Thank you, uh, Georgette?" "Yes, Georgette." the poodle replied as she stood back up. "Hey!" the St. Bernard barked as he stood up again. Then a bark came from the German Shepherd: "Lady, do you think you can just butt in and take those two runty kittens where you want to? They have a job to do!" "No, they don't. They have a home to go to, and one of them lived with me before this. Now both of them do." Georgette said. "So if I butted in, then you boys need to butt out. Be grateful I'm not barking my lungs out and alerting the dog catcher about you street mutts." Hearing this scared them silly, due to them not even for a second wanting to think of the notion of there even being a possibility they'd be captured, then taken off the streets and to the pound. They all ran away like there was no tomorrow, much to the delight of all three of the ones about to enter Jenny's house. "Good one, Georgette!" Oliver told her. "That was really clever and well timed!" "Well, perfect isn't easy, but it's me, kid." replied Georgette. "What is our new housemate's name, incidentally?" "Liza!" Liza answered. "M-my name is Liza!" "Well, Liza, I'm sure Jenny will be happy she has one boy and one girl in terms of kittens now, and I can already tell you and Oliver will be starry eyed beyond belief and play with each other endlessly, though thank God I don't have to be there for any of it."
While Georgette walked back to Jenny's mansion, Liza looked startled at Georgette's last of sentence segments, and Oliver explained: "Something you gotta know about Georgette, Liza. I am sorry to say that playing around isn't exactly her style." "Far from it. You would do well to remember that, Liza, especially since Oliver learned it long before either of us met you." spoke Georgette. Liza said: "Okay, that's too bad, but if that's how you feel." She could tell that she'd have a delightful future from this point on, and she'd turn out to be right, as, after proper choice of words, begging and sad, pleading eyes from Jenny, the Foxworths allowed that Liza would be their new pet, especially since she was a kitten without a home, an owner or any parents. This no longer would be the case, much to her delight and elation. And hopefully, word would get out of the stand Oliver took today and spread about the city, thereby ensuring cats would soon be given more respect and treated with equality and fairness by the Big Apple's dog population. It was of course possible, and one could only hope such a beautiful dream would become a reality.
END OF FIRST DRABBLE
So, how did you like this first chapter? Rate and review please, everyone!