"I just can't do it, Jenny. It's so hard. They're all such a handful." Jellylorum was sat in Jennyanydots' den sipping a cup of tea while her friend listened sympathetically to her problems. "Last night Etcetera wouldn't go to bed until midnight and when I finally got her to sleep Pouncival woke up crying because he had a nightmare. He woke both his sisters and I had to spend an hour getting them all back to sleep," Jellylorum sighed, "They're only a few months old and I already feel like giving up."
"It's ok, Jell. It's normal to struggle to start with. I remember breaking down and crying when Rumpleteazer wouldn't eat her food one night. I felt like such an idiot later," Jennyanydots laughed at the memory. She put a comforting arm round her best friend's shoulders. "You'll get there in the end and then you won't understand what you found so hard."
Jellylorum looked doubtful. "You only had one kitten. I've got three. Whenever I've got one of them under control the other two are running in opposite directions causing chaos as they go." She was finding it hard to imagine that she would ever find it easy to look after her kittens. They could only just walk properly and they were already to quick for her, running away as fast as their little legs would carry them. They were picky when it came to food and none of them liked the same things and they would never just go to bed when asked. At the moment they had all dropped off in the corner of Jenny's den but they could wake up at any second and start causing havoc.
"You really will get the hang of it. I know I only had one but it was Rumpleteazer and she really was a handful," Jennyanydots smiled affectionately. She looked over at the three kittens curled up together. "Don't they all look cute when they're asleep?"
"I know they do and I really love them. I'll just have to take your word for it that things get easier." Jellylorum took another sip of tea and reached for a sandwich. "Anyway enough about me. How are you doing? You sound loads better than the other day when you had that nasty cold. Are you feeling better?"
Jenny nodded, "I feel great now. Well almost great. I can't wait to get started repainting the den. I wanted to do it as a surprise for Skimble when he got back but it just wasn't possible when I was ill."
"What colour were you thinking of choosing? When I repainted my den last year I painted it green but I wouldn't recommend that. Don't you remember it just looked mouldy? I think something nice and bright would be nice. Yellow? Or maybe a light blue?" The two queens considered looking around the den for inspiration. Jellylorum felt a tiny bit jealous of her friend when she looked around. Everything was neat and tidy and there weren't any toys or half-eaten snacks littering the floor. In Jellylorum's own den the curtains had been torn, there was stuff cluttering up the floor from where the kittens had been playing and they had left dirty paw prints trailing through the den.
"I think I'll paint it blue," Jennyanydots decided, "It's Skimble's favourite colour."
At that moment the cute ball of fur in the corner stirred and Etcetera peered at them from behind Pouncival. "I'm hungry!", she wailed at the top of her voice making both other kittens jump and open their eyes. The kitten climbed to her feet and scrambled over her brother towards the two queens. "Can I have a sandwich?" Etcetera looked up at them with huge pleading eyes. She had toddled right up to the table and reached up to try and grab some food. Being very small she missed the plate she had been reaching for and only got hold of the tablecloth. She pulled it and the whole contents of the table rained down on the startled kitten. Two cups of tea, a teapot, a plate of sandwiches, some cakes and a vase of flowers all landed on Etcetera. She howled and jumped back as some tea burnt her paw and a plate hit her on the side of the head.
"Etcetera!" Jellylorum jumped to her feet and rescued her tearful daughter from the tablecloth she was tangled in. "You shouldn't do things like that!", Jellylorum scolded, "Look at all the things you've broken and you've hurt yourself. Come on I'll put something cold on that paw." She lead Etcetera over to a bucket of rainwater just outside the den and dunked her paw into it. "Sorry about the mess, Jenny," she called over her shoulder, "I clear it up in a minute."
"It's not a problem," Jennyanydots said as she came out of the den carrying the broken cups and plates. She threw them away and the two adults took the sniffing kitten back inside.
In the den they were greeted by a scene of destruction. Pouncival was throwing the ruined food at Electra who was screaming and jumping on the furniture to escape. The cushions were all covered with food and dirty paw prints, the low table had been knocked over and a picture had fallen off the wall taking a shelf of books Skimbleshanks had put up for Jennyanydots with it.
"Pouncival! Electra! Stop that!" Jellylorum let go of Etcetera and rushed over to grab Pouncival before he could throw a cake at his sister. She managed to get hold of Electra as she jumped past and drag the two kittens away from anything breakable. "How could you?", she hissed at them, "Jenny invited us to her home and you've total wrecked it! I expected better behaviour from you. Now apologise to Jenny."
"Sorry," both kittens muttered looking guilty. "It was her fault," Pouncival pointed accusingly at Electra.
"Was not!" Electra stuck her tongue out at Pouncival.
"Stop it! We are all going home now before you can cause any more trouble. Thanks for having us Jenny. Come on Etcetera." Jellylorum turned to see Etcetera sat in the middle of the chaos on the fallen picture eating a squashed cake she had just picked up off the floor. "Don't eat that, it's been on the floor."
Jennyanydots stepped in and took the cake off Etcetera. "Here you go." She handed each kitten a fresh cake off a shelf by the door. "Be good now. I'll see you later, Jell."
"See you later." Jellylorum dragged her temporarily quiet kittens from the den and marched them in the direction of home. "Come on, you three. Lets go home and ..." Jellylorum couldn't think of anything they would like to do at home. "... play with your toys," she finished lamely.
Electra had finished her cake and Jellylorum could see her eyeing up a muddy puddle and considering whether or not to jump in it. "Electra," she said warningly, "Don't even think..." She was interrupted by a shriek and whipped round to see Pouncival pouring rainwater from a bucket over Etcetera. "Stop it now!", Jellylorum shrieked and rushed to grab the bucket off Pouncival only to turn and see Electra happily splashing in the mud. "We are going home now!", snapped Jellylorum and she dragged a soaking wet Etcetera to their den and dumped her inside.
"Lets hide so she won't see us when she comes back," sniggered Pouncival and he and Electra dived out of sight behind a chair giggling like mad.
Arriving back where she had left them Jellylorum looked around in utter horror for her two kittens. "Electra! Pouncival! Where are you?" She began to search under junk and behind old furniture for them. He couldn't find the kittens anywhere and got more and more panicky as her search went on. "Please come out," she almost sobbed. How could she have lost her kittens? Was she that bad as a mother?
Just as she was about to give up Jellylorum spotted a tail flicking from behind a chair and back out of sight again. She crept stealthily closer to the hiding place. Now she could hear muffled giggles as if some one was covering their mouth with a paw and trying not to laugh. "Got you!" She jumped round the chair and pounced on Electra. "Where's Pouncival?" There was no sign of him, he must have sneaked off. Electra just shrugged and let her mother carry her to their den.
Etcetera was sat in the middle of the floor cheerfully chewing Jellylorum's favourite rug. There was already a big hole in it and it was wet with kitten saliva. At the sight of them Etcetera gave a high-pitched squeal and rushed over to hug her sister. The rug would have to wait until Jellylorum had found Pouncival and brought him back safely so she left her daughters to it and locked the door to keep them in the den.
The queen hurried back across the Junkyard calling at the top of her voice for Pouncival. A few other people were lounging in the sun but when she asked them if they had seen Pouncival they all shook their heads so she hurried on past them.
All Jellylorum could think about was the dangers Pouncival might get himself into. He was never careful at the best of times and now he was hiding from her he wouldn't be thinking about safety. He could fall and hurt himself and them they might not be able to find him for ages. He could get stuck somewhere or run into a strange cat he didn't know or wander off. The dangers were endless. He wouldn't leave the Junkyard. Jellylorum thought, He just wouldn't. Would he? Oh no, what if he has? What do I do? Don't be silly, he hasn't left the Junkyard. Keep looking!
Climbing onto the chair Electra had been hidden behind Jellylorum looked around her again. No sign of Pouncival anywhere. She jumped down again and began to search through the pile of junk the chair was on the edge of. Her son was not there so she moved on to the net pile and began to search through the rubbish. Still no Pouncival. Jellylorum peered into the oven and the car boot. Nothing. She searched in a stack of tyres and under some boxes. Next Jellylorum went round a pile of junk to search on the other side. She was getting desperate now and was in tears. Her throat was sore from shouting and she was tired and stressed.
Rounding a corner Jellylorum entered a clearing and saw something that froze her in her tracks in terror, Pouncival trapped under a heavy tyre. He was lying perfectly still and from where she was stood she couldn't even make out if he was breathing or not. "Pouncival!", Jellylorum screamed and ran over to him as fast as she possibly could.
At the sound of her voice Pouncival moved and tried to turn and look at her. "Mummy?"
Relief flooded through Jellylorum when he spoke. "Yes, I'm here. I'll get this tyre off you and we can go home." Jellylorum crouched down and struggled to move the tyre. It was heavy and hard to get a grip on and she was terrified of dropping it on the trapped kitten. "Stay still, Pouncival, ok?" She heaved the tyre up a few inches. Pain shot through her back and she almost dropped it again. "Try and crawl out," Jellylorum panted and Pouncival slowly struggled clear of the tyre. Immediately Jellylorum dropped it again and sank down against it shaking from the effort of lifting it. "Are you ok?", she asked Pouncival.
"My leg was trapped and now it hurts," he answered in a small voice, "I'm really sorry, Mummy."
Jellylorum made an effort to smile reassuringly at him. "It's ok. Don't worry. As long as you're safe now that's all that matters." She was tempted to ask how he came to be trapped in the first place but it was more important to get him home so she struggled to her feet and picked him up. The muscles in her back throbbed and she almost dropped him.
"Are you hurt?", Pouncival asked her looking worried.
"I'm fine. I just pulled a muscle lifting that thing. It will be fine soon." Jellylorum carried Pouncival back through the Junkyard to their den. With a due sense of dread she pushed the door open. Inside the den was trashed. Cushions and pillows had been ripped, food had fallen off the shelves onto the floor, ornaments had been knocked over, the pictures on the wall were wonky, some of her books had been torn and every toy the kittens owned seemed to be on the floor. In the midst of this Etcetera and Electra were curled up together in a pile of feathers from the cushions fast asleep.
Tiptoeing into the den Jellylorum put Pouncival down and went in search of a bandage for his leg. The medicines and first-aid kits had all been thrown on the floor and it took her a while to find what she was looking for. She was to tired to even be cross with her daughters. They had probably been playing tag, a game they had been told not to play indoors.
When she went back to Pouncival she found him eating sweets he'd found on the floor. She sighed and began to wash his leg. She was careful not to move it too much but Pouncival had apparently forgotten all about the pain and was too busy focussing on the tasty food. Jellylorum carefully bandaged the leg and sat Pouncival on an only slightly damaged cushion with a picture book to look at.
It took Jellylorum four hours to tidy the den again. Most of the pillows, blanket, cushions, dishes and food had to be thrown out. They would all have to be replaced at some point in the future but it was getting too late to go out and look for new things now. The whole time she was working the kittens were quiet. Pouncival looked at his book and when his sisters woke up they fetched books of their own to read.
Jellylorum felt worn out by the time she had finished. The pain in her back had got steadily worse since she had injured it and she was now finding moving hard after having worked for four hours without a break.
"Mummy," Electra was trying to get her attention, "I'm hungry." She looked mournfully at the empty shelves and then back at Jellylorum. Behind her Pouncival and Etcetera nodded in agreement.
"I'll go and get some food," Jellylorum sighed, "Stay here and be good." The three kittens nodded and Jellylorum left the den in search of food. She really didn't feel like hunting for mice or rats so she thought she might ask Jennyanydots if she had any spare food. She padded across the Junkyard to her friends den, knocked and waited for her to answer. Nothing. She's probably out, Jellylorum thought miserably, That means I will have to go hunting after all. Turning away she jogged slowly to the gates and slipped out of the Junkyard and into an alley. It was gloomy and cold and there was no sign of anything moving. Jellylorum stalked down the alley keeping an eye out for any mice. When she had no luck in that alley she turned into another one and carried on searching for food. There was an old tumbled-down building just up ahead and Jellylorum made straight for it.
Once inside she made straight for the kitchen where she knew from experience there were mice living behind the old cupboards. She crept silently into the room. Finally something seemed to go right for her. There were several mice scuttling about and they hadn't heard her approach. Quick as lightning Jellylorum pounced. She caught three mice before the others all disappeared into their holes.
That's one for each kitten, Jellylorum thought, That should be enough for supper. I can't be bothered to wait and try and get hold of another one for me. I'll just eat anything that's left over. Cettie never finishes all her food. She picked up the mice and hurried for home as fast as she could. Pouncival, Electra and Etcetera were never the most patient and they were likely to be fed up because they had to wait for their food.
In the den the kittens were arguing when Jellylorum returned. "Did not!", Etcetera screamed at Pouncival and shoved him.
"Did!" Pouncival shoved her back and she fell over. She looked up at him and then burst into noisy floods of tears. "Baby!", Pouncival snapped.
"Am not! You're a baby!", Etcetera wailed at the top of her voice.
"You're both babies!", Electra yelled and stormed from the room into the bedroom pulling the curtain that divided it from the rest of the den so hard it ripped and fell down.
"Now look what you've done," Etcetera giggled triumphantly pointing at Electra, "Mummy will be so cross."
"Oh, shut up!" Electra threw herself onto her bed and started to sob.
Pouncival glared accusingly at his youngest sister. "You made Electra cry! You're really horrid!"
"I am not! You're...", Etcetera stared to say when her mother quickly interrupted her.
"Supper!", she called brightly and put the mice down in front of the kittens. Pouncival and Etcetera fell on their mice and started gobbling them but Electra didn't even look up. She stayed with her face buried in a pillow crying her eyes out. "Electra, come and have a mouse," Jellylorum called coaxingly but Electra ignored her.
"Mummy I don't want a mouse," sniffed Etcetera. She had already eaten half of it and had now decided she fancied something different. "I wanted chicken."
"Ungrateful!", her brother hissed at her.
"Am not!", Etcetera shrieked outraged.
"Yes you are!" Pouncival snatched Etcetera's food off her.
"He took my food," she howled and tried to grab it back but he held it out of her reach.
"Well you didn't want it!" Pouncival took a bite out of Etcetera's mouse making her start crying again.
Jellylorum hurriedly took the mouse off him and gave him his to eat. "Don't snatch you sister's food. It's not nice," she told him and handed the mouse back to Etcetera, who thankfully seemed to have forgotten she didn't want to eat it and tucked into it again.
Electra was still in tears so Jellylorum went over to her and picked her up. "Come and have some food, Sweetie. I'm not cross about the curtain. I'll mend it tomorrow." She put her sniffing daughter down beside the food and Electra started to nibble at it half-heartedly.
While the kittens were eating Jellylorum filled a bath with water and made their beds for them. "Bath time!", she called when she saw they'd finished and dived forwards and grabbed Etcetera before she could escape.
"Won't!", Etcetera wailed as Jellylorum forced her into the water and started scrubbing the mud and dirt out of her fur. Etcetera struggled and splashed and soaked the whole den. Muddy water drenched her mother, her brother and sister, the furniture, the walls and even the ceiling. The ghastly kitten shrieked and screamed as if she was being murdered and wouldn't sit still even when bribed with sweets. Eventually Jellylorum finished cleaning Etcetera and turned to grab the next kitten.
Electra and Pouncival both dodged but Pouncival was too slow with his hurt leg and Jellylorum caught him. She turned back to the bath with the struggling kitten to find Etcetera still sat in it happily splashing the water everywhere. "Get out the bath, it's Pouncival's turn," Jellylorum tried to sound strict but it had no effect, Etcetera didn't move a muscle to get out. "Come on, please," Jellylorum begged. She tried shouting, bribing and pleading but nothing worked and in the end she had to put Pouncival down to lift Etcetera out the bath. Etcetera screamed and clung on to the edge of the tub and wouldn't let go. It took all Jellylorum's strength to prise her paws off. She dumped the hysterical kitten in bed and turned to pick up Pouncival. Of course he'd vanished.
Looking around Jellylorum saw the two remaining kittens trying to hide behind a curtain. She grabbed both of them and stuffed them in the bath together. It was a bit of a squeeze but she managed to get them both in and clean the dirt out of their fur. Due to the fact they were so squashed they didn't have space to misbehave so she was quicker washing them.
She put them in bed beside Etcetera only to notice that Etcetera was reading one of her books and eating jam she'd found in a jar somewhere. She was getting the sticky stuff everywhere. It was all over the bed and the book and Etcetera.
Jellylorum snatched the jar off her daughter and pulled her out of bed. She dropped the squealing kitten back into the bath and washed her again. Then she moved all three of them to her bed and tried to get them to sleep.
Etcetera and Electra wouldn't stop whispering and giggling and Pouncival wouldn't stop getting out of bed to try and do something more interesting. After putting Pouncival back in be for the fifth time Jellylorum felt like giving up. Electra was now pulling her sister's tail and making her cry because they had disagreed about something and Pouncival was crying too because he was tired and couldn't sleep with the other two making so much noise.
"Please be quiet and go to sleep," Jellylorum begged and took Etcetera's tail off Electra. Who started to wail something about favouritism.
At that moment Asparagus walked into the den, after having been away for a few days, to see all three kittens crying and Jellylorum almost in tears. "I'm back," he called from the doorway.
"Daddy!" The kittens jumped out of bed and ran over to leap on him. "You're home!"
"Yes, I'm home. Now would you all go to bed and get some sleep and I'll tell you all about my trip in the morning if you're good." Asparagus smiled down at them and hugged them all.
To Jellylorum's surprise the kittens ran back to bed snuggled down and fell asleep almost as soon as they lay down. She went over and hugged Asparagus. "Thanks. How did you do that?"
"Luck?", he shrugged and hugged her tightly.
Later when she was curled up in bed Jellylorum thought about what a horrible day she had had. It was the worst day ever but she felt strangely good about it. Jennyanydots had said she would get the hang of it and now she felt she might do eventually. She had managed to get through such a disastrous day and that had to count for something. She smiled and dropped off to sleep thinking about how sweet the kittens were really and what she could do with them tomorrow.