Chapter 2: The Naming of Cats
"With your permission, we'd like to know. What is a Jellicle cat?" Neville asked. "Well, gather around, young visitors, and we'll tell you." The grey cat, Munkustrap, said. The heroes sat in a group as the cats started to group up again. They then started to quietly sing.
[The Naming of Cats]
Chorus: The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first, I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have three different names
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Sullivan, George or Bill Bailey,
All of them sensible, everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter,
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo or Corpricat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum,
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you will never guess;
The name that no human research can discover,
But the cat himself knows, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation,
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name.
His ineffable, effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable name.
The heroes put this all to thought as the cats all slunk away, echoing the last word. "These cats are quite the name artists." Ron said. "Yeah. Each with 3 different names." Kaz said. "None that belong to just one cat." Tom said. "At first I thought they were referring to their full names." Dean said. "Maybe. But each cat has the right to call themselves whatever they want. I can respect that as a feline myself." Intress said.