Chapter Seven

Sylvester's Trial

Bugs and Daffy and Wile E. were standing in front of Sylvester, who was still in his trenchcoat and his rubber goat mask. They were right under a railroad trestle, and a freight train rattled overhead. "So THAT'S why you're undercover," Daffy Duck told the figure.

"Listen, bub, I didn't mean to kill him…" the goat tried to explain, in his raspy disguised voice.

Bugs chimed in. "We know it was you! I knew from da start!" By now a small crowd began forming.

"Yeah, but I was only trying to get a meal," Sylvester said.

"What are you talking about?" a man asked them.

Wile E. Coyote cleared his throat and explained, "It seems we had found your culprit on who shot Chicken. And it is not Daffy… the gunman is right HERE!" He pointed at the masked cat.

A woman, sounding confused, asked, "Why would a goat shoot a chicken?"

The disguised "goat" began, "Well, there is a good explanation for this. I didn't really shoot him, it was an accident, I mean, why would you see a goat do something…"

"But he's NOT a goat!" Wile E. shouted. "Take a look for yourself." And with that, he turned the goat facing backward and partially pulled up his trenchcoat, revealing Sylvester's black fur and tail!

The crowd gasped. One of them shouted, "It's SYLVESTER!"

Another said, "We should have known it was a Looney Tune!"

"What a convincing disguise!"

Now a SWAT team car drove right in and skidded to a stop. The back doors opened and the SWAT members ran out. One said, "All right, 'goat.' You're under arrest." He put Sylvester in handcuffs and put him in the wagon and they drove off. Sylvester was still in his goat disguise.

Later, at the "CARTOON COURTHOUSE," everyone was seated. Daffy sat over at the front. Wile E. Coyote sat with Scooby-Doo. Bugs also sat next to Scooby, but he was scowling at him a bit. Other 'toons were there. They included Cow and Chicken, of course. But Dexter was there, too, and Johnny Bravo and the Powerpuff Girls. The Cartoon Network boss, still shadowy, was on a TV screen near the judge's podium. Also there, was Porky Pig, Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, the Tasmanian Devil, Hippety Hopper, Sam the Cat, Sniffles, Merlin the Magic Mouse, Foghorn Leghorn, Hector and Granny. Sylvester was seated at one table next to a lawyer; Chicken at the other. "Honor in the court!" a man shouted. "Here come da judge, now rise!"

I.M. Weasel stepped up to the podium, wearing a black robe and old-fashioned white wig. He pounded the gavel and said, "Order in the court! Be seated."

Everyone sat down. Weasel continued, "Now, we must make this quick. I have a date in an hour. Now, bring in the prosecutor!"

Everyone turned and saw Elmer Fudd enter the room. He said, "I call to the stand… Sylvester!"

So Sylvester walked up to the stand and began explaining. "Now, I don't nor I ever did have a grudge or anything like that against Chicken. But I WAS hungry, though. You know how I usually like to get birds or mice just to eat them, say, Tweety or Foghorn Leghorn. So I decided to make Chicken my lunch! So I pulled the trigger, but he flinched so the gun only hit his side. He was lucky, though, and he escaped. If I DID kill him, I'd clean him and deep-fry him and then enjoy him as a meal!"

Just then Chicken shot up. "It's true! He was only trying to eat me! It's natural for a cat to do that."

I.M. Weasel scratched his chin. "Yes, I see your point. Jury, do you have a verdict?"

A man in the jury said in a bored-sounding, droning voice, "Yes, we find the defendant, Sylvester, innocent."

The crowd of Looney Tunes cheered. But the Cartoon Network boss on the screen growled, "Sylvester may have won this time, but those Looney Tunes are someday going to make a mistake!"

"So you decided to just try and eat Chicken, eh?" Daffy asked Sylvester. "And THAT'S why you were wearing that disguise, too! Right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well," Daffy said, "I found out terrible news. Cartoon Network's now gonna start airing LIVE-ACTION CONTENT!"

"No way!" Wile E. Coyote replied, obviously shocked.

Bugs Bunny said, "We've got to do something about it!"

"Forget it," Daffy said to Bugs. "They're not gonna allow us on the premises."

Sylvester slyly said, "But we could TRY…"