Lita arrived at home anxious to start her week long break from school. She picked up her mail
and began to leaf through seeing what she got. "Bill, bill, magazine, letter, bill....letter??? Hey, it's
a letter from my cousin..."
She opened up the envelope and read the letter
"Hello Lita, Sorry that I haven't been able to write to you lately, we've been busy here on the farm
we have been hard at work bringing the crops in for the market, any way I thought you'd like to
bring your friends to come out and visit. My parents are going away for a week so I'm on my
own. Hope to hear from you soon, I really could use the help!
Your Cousin, Yamako"
"Cool, the guys are gonna love this," said Lita.
(Later at the Temple )
"Hey guys, my cousin's invited us to his family's farm," said Lita.
"A farm, as in cute ducks and baby chickens?" asked Serena.
"You could say that..., his parents are going away and says he can use the help," replied Lita.
"We could use the break," said Luna.
"It's all set then, I'll call him tonight," said Lita.
The next day all seven of them piled into a van and drove down to Yamako's place. The entire way Rei and Serena were arguing and complaining about how long the trip was, Ami was reading a book, Mina was handling the directions, Lita was driving, and Luna and Artemis rested in their
carriers. After driving for a few hours they finally arrived at their destination.
"It's about time, I thought we'd never get out of the van," complained Serena.
"You're telling me..." said Luna as she stood up and stretched.
"Hey Lita. I'm over here in the barn. Are these your friends?" asked Yamako.
"Oh sorry, these are my friends Ami, Mina, Serena, Rei and Mina's cat Artemis and Serena's cat Luna," replied Lita.
"Great, just what I need. Well, I hope they don't harass the chickens and ducks," said Yamako.
"Don't worry they are well behaved. Aren't you Artemis?" asked Mina.
"Meow," replied Artemis.
"I'm almost done here Lita, If you'd like to show your friend's around here is the key to the guest house. It's in need of dusting, since it was closed a week ago for the season but you five can use it..." said Yamako.
"Sure why not, c'mon I've got a lot to show you guys..." said Lita
Lita took all of them around the entire house and farm until they finally sat down to rest in the
living room. After a little while Yamako came in with a bucket and went into the kitchen.
"Lita, can you give me a hand with dinner?" asked Yamako. "And bring the cats with you, their meal is ready!"
"OK! C'mon Luna and Artemis your food is ready..." replied Lita.
Hungry and impatient Artemis & Luna run past Lita into the kitchen. Two bowls of milk await
them on the floor and they happily lick it all up.
(15 minutes later)
"Dinners ready!" exclaimed Lita.
"Wow! Look at all this yummy food..." said Serena staring with wide eyes and mouth open.
"Serena is that all you ever think of?" asked Rei
"Well...there's Tuxedo Mask, uh, Andrew..., the video arcade, lets see who else..., uh?" replied
Serena.
(At the table after dinner)
"Lita you never told me your cousin lived on a farm," said Serena.
"Well, I didn't know myself until I got a letter a few months ago, from him saying that he was moving. I guess I thought you wouldn't be interested," replied Lita
"Lita could you take your friends to the fire pit, here are the marshmallows and sticks, I'll join you in a minute..." said Yamako.
"Oh boy!, Oh boy!, Oh boy! A late night snack" said Serena licking her lips.
"Sure you don't need any help?" asked Lita
"I'm OK go ahead..." replied Yamako.
Lita leads the way out to the fire pit. She starts a fire and passes the sticks and marshmallows around. A few minutes later, Yamako arrives and joins the girls for some roasting. After a few hours of talking, questions, and mostly arguing between Serena and Rei, they finish off the
bag of marshmallows.
"Lets call it a night, we've got a busy day tomorrow..." said Yamako.
As the five girls and two cats start to head back to the guest house and Yamako to his, Artemis
pauses and looks towards the barn then turns back and heads to the house.
A restful night follows and the next morning around 8:30 am, the smell of bacon and eggs fills the
house, slowly waking up two cats and four slumbering girls.
"Where's your cousin?" asked Rei.
"He's been out working in the stable since 6 am," replied Lita. "Now eat before it gets cold. Artemis, Luna here's your food..."
"Did I hear the word work? I hate doing more work than absolute necessary," said Serena.
Artemis and Luna looked down at their bowls of cat food, wishing for something more substantial to feast upon. They stared at the bacon and eggs sizzling on the frying pan with sorrowful eyes as they slowly ate their tasteless cat food. After everyone finished their breakfast, they moved into the living room to recline on the sofa and chairs. Time passed slowly until Yamako arrived with a fishing rod in his hand.
"Good morning everyone! Are you up to some horseback riding?" asked Yamako.
"I've never ridden a horse before in my life..." replied Ami.
"Sure let's do it, it'll be fun!" exclaimed Rei.
"Sounds cosmic, let's go," said Mina
"Well..." stated Serena.
"Ami if you need help with it don't be afraid to ask..." said Yamako.
"Ok," said Ami.
"Artemis and Luna you two stay here and keep out of trouble, we'll be back before lunch," said Lita.
"Yamako what are you going to do with that fishing rod?" asked Serena.
"Get tonight's dinner," replied Yamako.
The weather outside was sunny and warm as the girls and Yamako rode around the plains for a few hours. All of the girls enjoyed the ride except for Serena always falling behind and off of her horse. Ami learned the art of horseback riding quickly, since she is always good at learning new things, and Serena just whined the whole afternoon about how she couldn't ride her horse, how much work she was doing, and how hungry she was. Yamako stopped riding for a few minutes and went down to the lake to catch some fish.
After he returned half an hour later with several fish in hand, all six rode back to the house.
Lita and Yamako took the fish into the kitchen and began to cook them.
The smell of fish began to fill the house and everyone waited anxiously for their meal. Serena, still
tired from her afternoon excursion, sat slumpedin a chair awaiting her meal of fish.
"Luna, Artemis, come and get it!" yelled Yamako.
Luna and Artemis both stretched and head for the kitchen from the back porch.
"You two must be thirsty from being in the sun all morning. Here's some
milk for you," said Yamako.
Luna and Artemis happily start drinking the milk.
"What kind of milk is it Yamako?" whispered Lita.
"Oh, it's goat's milk, they seem to like it..." said Yamako loudly.
A huge sweat drop appears above each of the girls in shock, Artemis and Luna give each other a
strange look but continue drinking.
"By the way, there will be a class coming tomorrow for the morning to visit the farm, so we'll all
have jobs to do. Serena, you'll be responsible to keep the cats inside so kids don't start to chase
them. Rei, Ami, Mina and Lita you'll be in charge of taking the groups of children and showing
them the area's around the farm that Lita showed you, then bring them back to the barn and I'll
take over from there..." said Yamako.
After finishing their milk, Luna and Artemis fall asleep on the spot. Ami and Mina moved both of
them to their bed in front of the fireplace.
"Well we won't hear from them for a while..." said Rei jokingly.
"If you will excuse me, I have to go work on dinner..." said Yamako.
The fish finished cooking and all of them sat at the dinner table. The fish was passed around and
everyone ate the wonderful tasting food. Yamako put the extra fish in the cats' bowl. Luna and
Artemis were still peacefully sleeping in front of the fireplace. After dinner Mina went over to
wake up the two slumbering cats.
"Wake up sleepy, dinner's been waiting in your dish for an hour," said Mina
"What time is it?" asked Luna yawning.
"It's 6:30 pm!" exclaimed Mina.
Luna saunters into the kitchen behind Mina, until she smells something good. "What's that smell...? Oh boy! Real food." Said Luna
"When you're done every one is outside around the fire," said Mina.
"Artemis too?" asked Luna.
"He already ate and then headed for the barn. He said that he needed the exercise, but knowing him, he's probably sleeping," replied Mina.
"Are you coming Mina? Serena is almost done eating the bag of marshmallows!" said Ami from the doorway.
"Coming Ami!" exclaimed Mina. "And save some of those marshmallows for me if you can."
"I will try, but you know how Serena gets when there's food around," said Ami.
"Yeah, you're right, she is liable to bite off you hand or something," said Mina laughing.
Artemis was busy in the barn looking in the darkness surrounding him. He moved slowly and quietly looking for any quick jerks of mice into the walls or hay.
"Hey Mice! Come out, come out where ever you are," said Artemis. "Your worst nightmare has arrived."
Just then out of the corner of his eye, he catches sight of a mouse running across the floor.
"Ah, desert!" exclaimed Artemis as he lunged after the mouse. He was too slow and could only
watched as it escaped back into its house. "It looks like it is going to be a long night of hunting."
Back outside everyone sat on the porch steps looking at the stars.
"Yamako, I never knew a farm was so peaceful at night just like at my
temple," said Rei.
"It is always like this at night, every so often I sit out here and look
up at the stars. They're so beautiful..." said Yamako.
"Yes they are," replied Rei.
After watching the stars across the sky all six of them decided to head
off to bed.
Early the next morning in the guest house living room Artemis returns from
his night excursions in the barn. He walked over to his bed and sees Luna
waking up.
"Morning Luna," said Artemis as he collapsed onto his side of the bed.
"Morning Artemis where were you last night?" asked Luna after stretching.
Artemis continued to sleep unaware of the voice speaking to him. "You are
the laziest cat I have ever seen!"
Serena lay dreaming on the couch and talking in her sleep. "Oh, Tuxedo
Mask you're such a hunkmeister!"
"Serena..., SERENA!" yelled Luna. "She's just as bad as Artemis and she's
supposed to keep us out of trouble...?"
The children arrived to the barn and they were split into four groups,
which were each taken on a tour of the farm. Afterwards the four girls
took their groups back to the barn to show them the animals. After Yamako
finished feeding the animals, he sat down in front of the children to ask
them about their farm adventure.
"Now you've all been shown around the farm, right?" Yamako asked the
children.
"Yeah..." replied the class.
"Okay, do any of you have any questions about what you've seen here?" he
asked.
The children asked Yamako all about the farm and after the question and
answer session they prepared to leave for school. On the way out they
thanked Yamako and the four girls for their hospitality.
Luna was back in the guest house with Serena and sleeping Artemis. She
walked over to Artemis trying to wake him up with a nudge. Unsuccessful
she finally yelled into his ear. "WAKE UP!"
Artemis finally woke up and yawns: "Did any one get the number of that
fog horn? I knew! I should have layed off on the desert last night," he
said as he tended to a cut on his paw.
"What desert?" asked Luna. "And what happened to your foot?"
"I was chasing desert, but I managed to catch it. It put up a good fight
though..." replied Artemis.
"And...?" said Luna.
"And what? I was just hungry..., OK? I didn't think a little late night
snack could do too much harm."
"Well, sorry. Anyway your breakfast, which is now lunch is waiting for you
in the kitchen." Luna jumped onto a window ledge and watched as the kids
proceeded back onto the bus. After all the kids were on the bus, it took
off towards the city.
With all the work done for the day Serena walked outside and joined the
rest of the girls under the shade of a large tree. The two cats followed
her out to the porch where they promptly sat down to rest...again, but this
time in the warmth of the sun.
"I'm glad that's over!" exclaimed Serena.
"What do you mean by that Serena?" said Rei. "You didn't have to deal with
any of those kids! All you had to do was relax inside of the house."
"Yeah, but I had to put up with something worse then the kids..." Serena
replied sarcastically to Rei.
"And what would that be, Serena?" questioned Lita.
"That's simple..., Luna and Artemis!" answered Serena.
"Why do we even bother?" said Lita and Rei slapping their foreheads.
"Well the barn is back in order, but we've got more work tomorrow..."
uttered Yamako as he walked from the barn.
"WHAT!!!" yelled Serena. "Not again..., I hate doing work!"
"What's happening tomorrow, Yamako?" Ami asked.
"Tomorrow we have to take products to the market to sell..., there is a
produce truck coming tomorrow we'll be helping load and unload, as well as
selling the food at the market..."
The cats ate their food they turned their attention to the milk. As they
began to lick it up, Luna noticed a familiar smell.
"This milk smells familiar, Oh no! Not goa..." started Luna, before she
collapsed at the same time as Artemis. Two small thud's come from the
kitchen as everyone rushed in to see what happened.
"They must have been hungry, there's no food left in their dishes..."
exclaimed Rei.
"Fortunately they didn't eat their dishes too!" remarked Ami sarcastically.
Yamako: Now that their asleep, Serena go get the quilt from the living room
and put it in the back of the car so they'll be safe while they sleep on
the way to the market.
On the way to the market, the three girls looked in the back, at the two
sleeping feline's on the quilt beside Mina.
"Don't Luna and Artemis look cute together?" asked Lita.
Finally after a short time they arrived at the market.
"OK, Set the quilt down there in the corner, so that they have a chance to
wake up..." said Yamako.
"Yamako, do you mind if I do some shopping?" asked Lita.
"No problem, take your friend's and show them around also. The cats will
be fine here, besides their still sleeping any way. Could you pick up some
fish & chips for me? There is a spot about six booths down. Here's the
money and could you get it without the batter?" said Yamako.
"OK! I'll be back in a minute...," replied Lita. "And don't worry I can
find the booth easily, all I have to do is listen for Serena and Rei's
arguing."
Four hours later the girls were still on their tour. Luna had moved on to
Yamako's lap and he scratched her behind her ear. She starts purring like
mad, wakes up and yawns, from the enjoyment of the ear scratching she lets
out a weird meow something between a meow and a purr. Seeing Artemis still
asleep, she decides to make herself into a fur ball on Yamako's lap while
still purring away.
At around 4:30 , the girls finally returned and saw that the two cats were
up and eating the fish that Yamako asked Lita to get for him while he
munches on the fries.
After a successful day at the market everyone begins the journey home. On
the way home Artemis sits on Rei's lap while Luna laying on the quilt
watches the scenery zoom by as she looks out the back window. They finally
reached their destination at the farm. Since they got back late everyone
decides to go to bed early except the two felines on the back porch.
"Well, I'll see you later Luna..." said Artemis.
"Where are you going off to at this hour?" asked Luna
"Mouse Patrol, why?" replied Artemis.
"Oh, no reason. Just curious I guess," said Luna.
The outside area is quiet as are the two houses as Artemis walks towards
the barn. He reaches his destination and creeps in quietly so that he can
surprise the mice. As he prowls around he hears a noise coming from above.
Knowing that no mice are up there he yells "Who's there." A small object
hits him on the head as he turns around to find Luna jump down from the top
of a few haystacks behind him.
"I can't believe you go for stuff like this, Artemis!" exclaimed Luna.
"Luna!, what are you doing?" asked Artemis as he rubs his head. "After all,
i'm only scaring them. I get bored sleeping all day and this is how I get
my exercise."
"And how do you explain the so called desert? And you say your just
scaring them?" said Luna
"But that was different, like I said I was hungry. Now if you'll excuse me I have some mice to bug"
"Good grief Artemis. Oh well, mind if I join you?" asked Luna while she herself stretches.
"Sure why not! The mice are hiding beside that haystack in the corner near the door..."
replied Artemis.
Luna and Artemis practice their hunting skills on the mice all night long.
After catching the mice either to release them so that they can catch them
again or as snacks. The sun rose and the cats tired from the lengthy exercise,
walked slowly back to the guesthouse catching a cricket or two on the way.
They run into Yamako entering the house and he holds the door open so that
they can enter.
"Good morning you two..." Yamako said as the two cats crept by and fell
asleep on their bed.
"Gee! And I thought you were a heavy sleeper, Serena," said Rei as she saw
the two cats sleeping.
"You know Rei you're right. We could have a serious problem here," agreed
Serena as she smiled.
Ami, Lita, and Mina stared with mouths open at the two girls agreeing with
each other.
"Well I guess the cats won't be eating breakfast," said Lita.
"We'll be going on an over night camping trip this afternoon, I've got the
tents, pots, food, eating utensils and a small axe packed..." said Yamako.
"Where is this camping ground any way?" questioned Ami.
"It's along a dirt road about a mile up the main road," replied Yamako.
"How are we going to get there, and how will we bring the two sleepy heads
with us?" asked Serena. "And please don't say we have to walk. I don't
think I could make it."
"That's easy. There are eight horses outside waiting to go, two of which
are carrying the gear and I strapped a carrier on to one of the horses for
the cats to ride in," replied Yamako.
Everyone went outside and prepared to leave the house and ride to the
campsite.
"Ok, is every one ready to go?" asked Yamako.
"How come those two horses are bigger then the one's we're on?" asked Serena.
"Those horses are called Clydesdales, Serena. They can carry a heavier
load than the other ones." Replied Yamako.
"Oh, what are their names?" asked Serena.
"SER..." began Rei angrily before Yamako cut her off.
"The one with the cats, is called Jessie and the other one is called Joey.
Let's go shall we? There is a campsite waiting for us..." said Yamako.
They mounted the horses and started off towards the campground.
"We're almost there, once we arrive we should get the cats some water
they'll probably be thirsty from being in a hot carrier. There is a small
lake near the site and the horses will also need water and a rest," said
Yamako.
"Gee, Serena I'm amazed you haven't clutzed out since we got on the
horses," said Rei.
"What are you talking about Rei?" asked Serena.
"You know what I mean. You always find a way to mess up something,"
replied Rei.
"I can do some things right Rei," said Serena. "When we get there, when
do we eat? I am starving"
"That is so typical of you Serena" murmured Rei to herself.
When they arrive at the camp site the two cats get out of their carrier
and stretch after the long trip and nap. Luna goes over to a tree and
tries to sharpen her claws. Forgetting that she has no claws she quietly
whispers to herself, "I hope this trip is worth it." Yamako is busy
carrying the equipment and setting up his tent. He finally finishes and
picks up his fishing rod.
"If you girls want to go for a swim before dinner, the lake is about a two
minute walk from here. Just follow that path and it will take you straight
to it," said Yamako. "I will go get us some food."
After the girls and Yamako leave, the cat's climb into Yamako's tent and
quietly fall asleep. After fishing and catching enough fish for everyone
Yamako returns to the campsite. As he looks around he notices that the two
cats aren't sleeping on Serena's quilt. Worried that they might have run
off he finds that they are slumbering in his tent. He set up a fire pit
and gathered some wood to start a fire. A few minutes later the girls
returned from their swim in the lake.
"Shhh! the two cats are sleeping in my tent..." whispered Yamako.
"Being in the country is great! There's no pollution and the land looks so
vast it's beautiful!" said Mina quietly.
"I know what you mean..." replied Rei. "It is so different from living in the
city.
Later around the campfire the girls are talking about the past few days,
while Lita and Yamako are cooking. Luna and Artemis wait patiently for
their fish dinner as they lick their chops. Dinner was prepared and served
to everyone. While enjoying their dinner, everyone listened to the
crickets chirping.
"Here Artemis and Luna, you can have mine I'm not hungry any more..." said
Serena as she set her plate on the ground.
"I'm not surprised Serena you already ate two fish by yourself," said Ami.
"You're lucky Yamako caught some extra fish or you would have only gotten
one," said Lita.
"But then I might have starved to death," stated Serena.
"With that appetite of yours it would have been good to exercise a little
control," said Mina.
"Yeah, I still don't understand how you can eat so much food," said Rei.
"Well, I am a growing girl. I need lots of food or I will shrivel up,"
said Serena.
Serena begins to break the fish into two pieces but before she does Luna
quickly jumps on to Serena's lap, grabs it in her mouth, and then jumps
down heading off to a hiding spot in the campsite.
Artemis runs after her acting like a little kid. "Luna, you're supposed
to share it, give me some."
As the two felines start to fight over it, the fish breaks in two sending
Artemis into a backward roll with the food still in his mouth. After
dinner, since soon there will be no room in the large tent, the cats take a
quick cat bath and then go to seek refuge in back in Yamako's tent. The
next morning, Yamako wakes up before every one else and gets ready to brush
the Clydesdales.
Yamako seeing that the two cats, curled up around each other, are still
sleeping beside his sleeping bag and decides to let them sleep in some more.
At 9:35 when Yamako was feeding the last horse, something rubbed against
his leg sending a cold shock up his leg and back. He looks down and
discovers Luna rubbing against his leg. "You scared me! What are you
doing up this early? I thought cats always slept in."
"Artemis yes! Me no..." thinks Luna to herself as he scratches her behind
her ears.
"Lita tells me that you're pretty friendly?" said Yamako.
Luna hearing that jumps onto his shoulder and starts to purr loudly in his
ear, as he scratches under her chin.
"Are you hungry?" asked Yamako.
"Meow" replied Luna happily.
Yamako goes over to his backpack to find a can of cat food for her. "Hmm,
let's see what we can scrounge up for you ok?"
Luna jumps down from Yamako's shoulder, follows him eagerly to the
backpack, while he gets her some food. As Luna quietly munched on her
food, Artemis arose to the wonderful smell of food then the rest of the group
awoke shortly after.
"How is breakfast doing, Lita?" asked Mina.
"It's almost ready guys," replied Lita.
"Great, I'm starving," said Serena.
"As always..." commented Rei.
While the girls ate their breakfast, Luna and Artemis sat across from them
with their ears listening to any sound around the camp. After eating
they packed up all of the equipment and headed back to the house. They
packed up all of their belongings in preparation for the trip back the next
day. All of the girls and cats went to bed early so that they could wake
up on time the next day.
"I really enjoyed your company. I hope you girls had fun, you're always
welcome to visit any time..." said Yamako.
"Thank you Yamako," said Serena, Ami, Rei, and Mina in unison.
"Every thing is packed into the car," said Mina
"Where is your stuff, Lita?" asked Ami.
"I'll be staying a few more days until his parents return. He still need
some help here.
"Well, I hope nothing bad happens, while your still here," said Rei.
"Me too..., but I'll be back soon," said Lita.
As the girls say their farewells to Lita, Artemis and Luna chat amongst
themselves in the car.
"I never thought I'd actually start to miss this place!" said Artemis.
"What do you mean?" asked Luna.
"Well when we arrived I didn't think I'd like it here at first, but now I
think I am going to miss it. It is nice and quite here I could get use to
it," replied Artemis.
"I have to admit myself, I kind of liked it to..." said Luna.
"Really?" asked Artemis.
"The sky is so bright with all the stars above at night, and in the day
looking across the landscape that there is so much open space, it so
incredible and all this fresh air is great!" exclaimed Luna.
"The four remaining girls packed into the car and began to head back
towards their lives in the city. As the car pulls away Lita waves to her
friends and then heads into the guest house to wait for Yamako to get back.
The few days that all of the girls spent on the farm will create an
impression in their minds forever. Nobody can truly know the wonder that
comes from spending time away with their friends, until they actually do
it. That is the wonder and mystery of true friendship..."
The end.