Prologue
A gray and gold she-cat was stalking a mouse. She was drawing nearer and nearer. The mouse was too busy nibbling on a wheat seed to notice the stalking predator. Just as the she-cat was about to pounce there was a flash of light that scared the mouse.
The she-cat blinked and squinted against the dazzling light. There she saw a silhouette of six cats. One was golden like her but with darker golden stripes. Another was pure black, but with flash of white on her chest. The third was a tortoiseshell she-cat with two colored eyes, on green the second amber. The fourth was broad gray she-cat with dazzling blue eyes that were narrowed. The last two she-cats appeared to be close, the blue-gray she cat was riding the orange cat's back.
The blue cat's amber eyes were twinkling with delight while the orange cat's seemed to laugh.
After the six cats faded away there was another vision of a hill. So what? Thought the gray and gold cat thought, it's just a hill. But the she-cat squinted some more and saw a tiny entrance into the hill. It's a den! The she-cat thought excitedly. Maybe I have to go to that denfor some reason. The gray and gold cat thought back to the six cats. Those cats have something to do with it, and if I have to wait a thousand moons for them, that's what I'll do.