Jellicle Cats & Wild Dogs: The Beginning

by Jellicle Jacquie

The Jellicle Cats are the smallest of the Big Cats, & the Wild Dog Pack is the most diverse of Dog Packs. This is the beginning of a Jellicle Cats & Wild Dogs series.

1. Chapter 1: Wild Dog? Jellicle Cat?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Jellicle Cats, (only the ones that I named & I made up). I only own the Wild Dog Pack.

INTRODUCTION

In a large, lush, green Forest there lived a large Pack of Wild Dogs; their Forest home was named after their kin, Dogwood Forest. The Forest had cool, clear, clean air, lush green grass & very tall trees, cool, clear, clean water, & many different creatures that the Wild Dog Pack & other Forest predators could prey upon. These Dogs – born wild, stray or domesticated – came from all over the world & many different walks of life. The Wild Dogs were able to live a life of good hygiene, breathe clean air, drink & bathe in clean water in their beautiful Forest homeland. The Wild Dog Pack Leaders, Alpha – the Alpha Male – & Beta – the Alpha Female –ran their Pack under a democracy; the Wild Dog adults were treated equally & given their rights as Pack members.

As for a large Pride of Jellicle Cats there was quite a different story. The Jellicle Pride consisted of many different Jellicles Cats – (the smallest of the Big Cats species) – from all over the world & many different walks of life. Although the Jellicle Pride lived together peacefully, (for the most part), their lives were anything but good. The Pride lived in a terrible wasteland, known to the Wild Dogs as the Bad Lands. The landscape of the Bad Lands was nothing but dry gray sand, & the trees were nothing more than short, black, dry trunks & branches. There was also very little water – whenever the Jellicles had found water it was contaminated with dirt, salty rocks, & the sewage & body soil of themselves & other Bad Land creatures. The only creatures that the Jellicle Hunters could prey upon in their homeland were insects & rodents. The Jellicle Cats had no choice but to drink the same water that they cleaned themselves in & soiled around. They also had no choice but to breathe in the dust & horrible smells that filled their homeland air. Although life was really horrible for Jellicle Cats, & quite wonderful for the Wild Dogs, the two creature families lived their different lives naturally.

The Leader of the Jellicle Pride was a Tom by the name of Macavity, & he was quite a dictator. There was not much that Macavity would let his Pride do without his permission. Macavity's assistant, Munkustrap, was second in command; & third in command was Alonzo, (Munkustrap's little, & only Brother). Munkustrap was a black & silver stripped Jellicle Tom, stripped just like a Tiger; the Tom also carried just as fierce of a roar. Munkustrap did everything his Pride Leader told him to. However, he was a bit more lenient with his family. Alonzo was a bit stricter with the adolescents of the Pride. The three adult Jellicle Toms made sure that the Pride was in order; always in fair health, well fed & protected.

Macavity would not allow his Pride members to travel any further than their own homeland, nor beyond the Hunting Grounds. Alpha & Beta allowed their Pack members to travel onto the Hunting Grounds as well; but they, too, were not allowed to travel any further than that. Every single day was a struggle for both creature families, but the Jellicle Pride & the Wild Dog Pack continued to strive.

The only differences between the two families – one was a Pride of Cats, the other was a Pack of Dogs – simply making them worst enemies. A Jellicle Cat & Wild Dog could never be friends. There was a horrible, deadly, sinful history of Cats & Dogs; Dogs chased Cats, Cats chased Dogs, Dogs were hurt badly & killed by the Cats they chased & who chased them, & the same was for the Cats. All the Jellicle Pride & Wild Dog Pack expected from one another was violence & war.

Soon the Mating Season arrived; every single adult creature could feel it in the air. All of the young adult Wild Dogs & Jellicle Cats chose their Mates, trying their best to produce offspring of their own in order to expand their families. Unfortunately for both creature families, many of the Wild Dogs & Jellicle Cats could not reproduce. Some of the creatures were not fertile enough to reproduce; others were too old, a few Jellicle Cats & Wild Dogs were too sick to mate; while some on both sides were Mate less during the season. In the end, only one couple in each of the creature families was able to successfully mate & reproduce offspring of their own.

In the Wild Dog Pack it was Alpha & Beta, in the Jellicle Cat Pride it was Munkustrap & Demeter. The two creature couples were able to have five healthy offspring each. The Wild Wolf Mother Beta gave birth to three Boy Wolf Pups & two Girl Wolf Pups – Jacquie, Kelly, Joshua, Sammy & Kyle. The Jellicle Cat Mother Demeter gave birth to two Jellicle Tom Kittens & three Jellicle Feline Kittens – Mungojerrie, Mistoffelees, Rumpelteazer, Electra & Victoria. Both creature couples were very proud of each other, & so where their family members.

However, it did not take long for both creature families to discover that the other had had offspring of their own – five healthy offspring exactly. Both families were not too proud to hear about their enemy's growing family. Macavity heard about the birth of the five healthy Wild Wolf Pups through Skimbleshanks, the Pride's Messenger Jellicle, & former Railway Cat. The Macavity made sure that his Pride knew what the birth of Wild Dog offspring meant for them.

"No matter what we do, we must keep our Kittens away from those low life mutts, & their offspring! Soon those creatures will outnumber us & over populate the Forest. They may even threaten to come to our homeland to kill all of us Jellicles off! By any means necessary we must get rid of any mutt we find! We cannot allow those filthy creatures to get any chance of endangering us Jellicles, nor potentially making us extinct!" The Jellicle Pride was in shock, moved by their Pride Leader's words.

Demeter & Munkustrap, along with their Parents, (the Grandparents of their Kittens), Asparagus Jr. & Jellylorum, the oldest Jellicles of the Pride – spent quiet time with their Kittens. Demeter nursed her five healthy Kittens while Munkustrap gently groomed her. Asparagus & Jellylorum watched the two Jellicle Parents, & their Grandkittens nurse with joy.

The Wild Dog Pack was angry to hear about the birth of the five healthy Jellicle Kittens. Alpha was informed by Collin, a Black Labrador Retriever, the Pack's messenger Dog, & former Mail Dog to a mailman. Alpha warned his Pack about the birth of the five healthy Jellicle Kittens. He assured his Pack that he would make sure his five Wolf Pups would get no where near the Jellicle Kittens, nor their adult family members, & he asked the same of them

"I would especially hate for my Pups to go through what I had to at such a young age." Alpha warned his Pack, holding back his tears of anger & sadness. "We must all protect our Pups, & protect all of our family." The Wild Dog Pack howled & barked with agreement to their Pack Leader's words. All except for an elderly, religious Saint Bernard named Bernard. While the rest of his Pack barked & howled, Bernard spent some time in the prayer corner of his cave. He prayed for a long time to his Maker for peace, & for his Pack's hatred of the Jellicle Cats to come to an end. Alpha walked into his room, where his Mate & five nursing Wolf Pups laid. Alpha laid next to Beta, gently cleaning her while rested & continued to nurse her Pups.

With the Family Leader's words embedded in their minds, hearts & souls, both creature families were assured that they would not have any troubles from each other. Just as long as their families were separated, & as long as they & their offspring never met, the two creature families were safe. The one piece of land that kept the creature families' homelands separate was a large area of dry, yellow grassland called the Hunting Grounds. Just as long as the two creature families stayed on their side of the Hunting Grounds the creatures felt safe.

As the days went by both creature couples spent time with one another, nuzzling noses, kissing & cleaning each other, & spending time with their healthy offspring. The five Wild Wolf Pups & five Jellicle Kittens were very special to their Parents. The two creature couples became extremely special to their family – for they were the only couples who could successfully reproduce & expand their growing families. The four adult creatures were happy, & proud to become first time Parents of healthy offspring – let alone five of them at once. But in being first-time, (& potentially only time), Parents, life was going to become more of a challenge for them. The five Wild Wolf Pups & five Jellicle Kittens were the creature families' only hope for their future. Such knowledge made both creature couples even more aware of their responsibility as Parents. The rest of the families' adults also had a responsibility; to teach & protect their only offspring. Especially at their young & vulnerable ages, the Jellicle Cat adults were extremely protective of their Kittens, & the Wild Dogs adults were extremely protective of their Pups.

After their first month in their cave dens, & Kittens' & Pups' eyes & ears were fully opened, they were introduced to their elder family members. The Jellicle Pride & the Wild Dog Pack were proud & excited to see their five healthy offspring. The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups were shy & afraid at first, sticking close to their Parents. Weeks went by, the offspring spent more time with their other family members. The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups began to feel safe & secure around their homeland & family members. The Jellicle Cat & Wild Dog adults shared their culture through song, dance, stories & other "cultural" teachings. The adults also played many games that helped teach their offspring how to hunt, fight, & defend themselves & their families. The offspring were also continuously taught to hate their worst enemies. With all of that stored into their little bodies the Wild Wolf Pups & the Jellicle Kittens were prepared to live in their natural worlds.

Chapter 1: Wild Dog? Jellicle Cat?

Below the blood red sky of his Bad Land home, a young Jellicle Tom Kitten was playing hide & seek with his big Brother & three little Sisters. Mistoffelees was the youngest of the two Jellicle Tom Kittens. He was the shiest Kitten, & the shiest Jellicle of his family. Mistoffelees was also not one to boast about anything he did, making him the most modest Jellicle of his family. He showed some of the most intelligence of his litter, always thinking before pouncing.

The five Jellicle Kittens played hide & seek in their front yard. There was nothing but a few decomposing Antelope corpses, tall, round dirt mounds, hollow logs, & large boulders; the perfect places for the Kittens to hide. It was not the cleanest front yard, but the Kittens were used to it. The backyard was no different; expect that there was a big, filthy drinking & bathing pond that the Kittens sometimes played in.

Mistoffelees counted to ten as his siblings hid themselves in their front yard.

"...8, 9, 10! Ready or not, here I come!" Mistoffelees shouted. The little Tom Kitten dashed around his big front yard, playfully purring & hissing with excitement.

"I'm going to find you guys," he shouted. Mistoffelees's siblings did their best to keep quite as their Brother searched for them. Soon, Mistoffelees could smell one of his siblings nearby. The excited Jellicle Tom Kitten approached a large decomposing Antelope carcass; there were a few Flies bussing around it, & a few Maggots crawling on what was left of its flesh. Right behind the carcass was Mistoffelees's oldest & only Brother, Mungojerrie.

Mungojerrie was born with dark orange & black stripes, just like Tiger's fur. Mungojerrie was the oldest of the five Jellicle Kittens, making him his siblings' protector. Mungojerrie was also the rough & tough Kitten of his litter, but he was also a gentle Jellicle sweetheart. Along with Rumpelteazer, Mungojerrie would wrestle as often as he could & boast that he was the best fighter of his Pride. Mungojerrie purred & playfully hissed with excitement as he listened to his little Brother's footsteps. Mistoffelees did his best to keep his paws quiet while he approached his big Brother's hiding place, but the moist dirt he stepped on made soft squishing sounds. Mungojerrie started to snicker, & once he heard his big Brother's voice Mistoffelees leapt right on top of the Antelope carcass. The Jellicle Tom Kitten smiled proudly at his big Brother.

"I found you, Mungojerrie!" He cheered.

"You always find me, first." Mungojerrie said proudly as he leapt on top of the carcass with his little Brother. "Let's go find where our Sisters are hiding." Mungojerrie said with enthusiasm. The best part of hide & seek to the Jellicle Brothers was finding their three little Sisters. Mistoffelees & Mungojerrie used their tiny noses to sniff the dust filled air, & their tiny ears to listen for their little Sisters' voices.

Rumpelteazer, the middle Jellicle Kitten of her litter, was hiding behind a tall, round dirt mound. Rumpelteazer was born with light orange & black Tiger stripes, much lighter than Mungojerrie's. She was the oldest of the Feline Kittens, making her the protector of her younger Jellicle Sisters. She was also quite the trouble maker of her litter; often getting into trouble with her siblings & adult Pride members. But whenever push came to shove Rumpelteazer was there for her siblings, both younger & older, allowing nothing bad to happen to them. Mungojerrie & Mistoffelees crept around their front yard, snickering & laughing together.

"Hmm, I wonder where our Sisters could be hiding," Mungojerrie taunted as he listened for his middle Sister's giggle. Mistoffelees snickered softly with his big Brother. Rumpelteazer let out a soft meow of disbelief.

"They'll never find me," she thought to herself.

Suddenly Mungojerrie could see his Sister's tail; the rest of her tiny body was hiding behind the left side of the dirt mound.

"I found you!" Mungojerrie shouted as he pounced on top of Rumpelteazer & playfully nipped at her ears.

"No fair!" Rumpelteazer shouted as she playfully fought with her oldest Jellicle Brother.

Mungojerrie & Mistoffelees always worked together – as the only Jellicle Toms of their liter – & they were proud of it. Mungojerrie kept Rumpelteazer busy by playfully swiping & nipping at her face, while Mistoffelees waited for the right moment to help his big Brother interrogate her. Once Rumpelteazer was on her back Mistoffelees sprung into action, he placed his tiny white paws on his middle Sister's tummy & started to tickle her. Rumpelteazer squealed with laughter; her laughter was so loud that her two younger Sisters could hear her from where they were hiding.

Electra – a purple, black & white stripped Kitten – & Victoria – a pure white Kitten – were both hiding behind a large, dusty boulder. Electra was born with many shades of purple on her fur, & she had big thick black stripes & small thin white stripes all over her body. She was the most hyper & emotional Kitten of her litter; the simplest frustration would make her ball up & cry. Electra was also the only Kitten of her litter to be born with mentally retarded, (something that Jellylorum had noticed when her eyes & ears first opened). However, Electra did not allow her mental disabilities slow her down. She was determined to show her Pride that she was just as good a Feline as any of the Felines, as good a Jellicle Cat as any of the Jellicle Cats in her Pride.

Victoria was the only Kitten of her litter to be born with fur of one color, pure white. Victoria was also the last born of her litter, making the baby Kitten, & the youngest Jellicle Cat of her Pride. Victoria was also seen as the most beautiful Feline of her Pride; however, she did not allow her beauty to get the best of her. In fact, she often showed the most maturity of her litter. Helping to take care of her big mentally retarded Sister, Electra, helping to clean, & clean up after, her older siblings & scolding them when they needed to be scolded. Demeter saw her youngest Kitten as a "little mommy", Victoria just saw herself as being a helpful member of her Pride.

The two Feline Kittens giggled at their oldest Sister's laughter.

"We should go help her," Electra squealed.

"But if we do then they'll catch us, or worse, tickle us to death!" Victoria giggled.

"But we have to help Teazer. Hurry, Victoria!" Victoria & Electra both dashed from hiding place & dashed to their big Sister's aid. Rumpelteazer's face was turning bright red with laughter as her Brothers continued to tickle her.

"Tell us where our Sisters are hiding." Her Brothers playfully threatened.

"I'll never tell!" Rumpelteazer squeaked with laughter. Suddenly Victoria & Electra pounced on their Brothers; soon the five Jellicle Kittens chased each other around their front yard. The Kittens pounced onto each other, playfully fighting and tickling one another. Their laughter & play was suddenly interrupted by the soft call of an adult Jellicle Cat. The Jellicle Kittens' Uncle Pouncival – a pale gray & brown stripped Jellicle Tom – called his Jellicle Nieces & Nephews Kittens inside for dinner. The five Jellicle Kittens dashed across their front yard into their cave. The Kittens' Uncle Pouncival walked them to a small dinning area, where there was a huge pile of dead Rodents – Rabbits & Rats. The five Jellicle Kittens dashed toward the pile of prey licking their lips. The Kittens rubbed their tiny front paws together; rubbing off all of the dirt & mud – among other things – they had stepped on in their front yard. It was the only way that they, & their Pride members, could clean their paws before they ate; since there was nothing but filthy water in the Bad Lands, (something that particularly worried the Kittens' Aunt Jennyanydots).

"Hurry up & eat, or your food will hop away." Pouncival joked, his Nieces & Nephews laughed aloud.

"If one Rabbit tries to hop away I'll pounce on it & hunt it down, 'cause I'm too hungry." Mungojerrie said as he licked his lips. Rumpelteazer nudged her big Brother's shoulder & glared at him.

"I'm hungry, too, you know." She sniffed.

"I know that!" Mungojerrie sniffed.

"We're all hungry you guys." Mistoffelees said as he began to tear apart the flesh of a Gray Rabbit.

"Let's just eat." Victoria said as she tore apart the flesh of a Brown Rabbit. Electra was way ahead of her siblings, tearing apart the flesh & bones of a Black Rat. The five Jellicle Kittens began to eat, tearing apart the flesh & bones of their Rodent meal.

Pouncival watched his Nieces & Nephews eat the prey he brought for them with pride – he, with the help of the rest of the Jellicle Pride Hunters. Watching his Nieces & Nephews reminded Pouncival of when he was a little Tom Kitten; born & raised in a Rainforest, living in a City for a few months, & finally living in the Bad Lands, (or as known to the Jellicles as the Jellicle Lands). It always made Pouncival happy to see that his Jellicle Nieces & Nephews were happy, satisfied, safe & in good heath. It was the Kittens alone made him proud to be a part of the Pride.

After eating six Rats Electra began to feel full. She tried to leave the dinning area but was stopped by her Uncle Pouncival. Pouncival gave Electra a wide smile, making his little Niece giggle.

"And where do you think you're going, young Feline?" He asked smiling at his Niece with his front legs folded.

"I want to go outside & play." Electra said shyly smiling at her Uncle Pouncival. Pouncival laughed to himself.

"Shouldn't you wait for your Brothers & Sisters, first?" Electra looked back at her siblings; they were still busy devouring their prey.

"My Brothers & Sisters eat too slowly for me." Electra complained.

"Really?" Pouncival sarcastically asked, Electra pointed to her dinning siblings.

"See, they're still eating. I'm already done with my food, I ate six Rats." Electra said proudly. Pouncival exaggerated a gasp.

"Six rats! That's a lot of food; you must be good & full." Pouncival said as he placed his right front paw under Electra's tummy, wiggling his toes to tickle her. Electra giggled & hopped around her Uncle's wiggling paw. Suddenly Pouncival & Electra were interrupted by the sound of a loud yowl. Pouncival looked back & sighed; it was a yowl for assistance that came from none other than the Jellicle Pride Leader. Electra rubbed her tiny front violet paws on her Uncle's front right leg.

"Do you have to help our Sire, now?" She asked.

"Yes, but I'll be back."

"Can we help you, Uncle?" Victoria asked as she licked her lips. Pouncival sighed again.

"We grown ups have to assist the Family Leader, now. But…"

"How come we can never help you, Uncle Pounc?" Mungojerrie asked as he, Rumpelteazer & Mistoffelees approached their nervous Uncle. Pouncival's ears folded back as his Nieces & Nephews begged for him to allow them to help. Before he could say anything another adult Jellicle Tom entered the dinning area. Alonzo stared at Pouncival & laughed.

"Are the Nieces & Nephews giving you a hard time?" He asked sarcastically.

"Hmmm, what do you think?" Pouncival sarcastically whispered. Alonzo quickly quieted his Nieces & Nephews, then he explained what he & the other Jellicle adults were doing. Even the very fact that their adult family members were preparing for battle did not make the Kittens less willing to help them. Alonzo let out a sigh & said, "If you five behave while we grown ups take care of this problem, I'll tell you a bedtime story." Four of the five Jellicle Kittens cheered, Mungojerrie sighed.

"What's wrong, Mungo?" Pouncival asked.

"You always tell us bedtime stories. That's boring."

"No it's not!" Rumpelteazer disagreed. Mungojerrie frowned at his Sister, folding his legs & poking out his lower lip. Alonzo & Pouncival laughed to themselves.

"You want to wrestle, don't you tough Tom?" Alonzo asked. Mungojerrie smiled at his Uncle.

"Yeah!" The oldest Tom Kitten cheered.

"I will personally challenge you, but only if you behave while we adults hurry & take care of our little problem." Alonzo said as he & Pouncival heard Macavity roaring at them from their back yard. The Pride Leader was sounding very angry.

"I'll be good!" Mungojerrie said with a big wide smile. Alonzo & Pouncival nuzzled their Nieces' & Nephews' noses before dashing out of their cave home into their back yard.

The five Jellicle Kittens all went their separate ways outside of the dinning area to spend sometime to themselves – with the exception of Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer. The two Tiger-striped Jellicle Kittens wrestled each other, Victoria cleaned herself in a corner, Electra played with her sleeping Aunty Violet's tail, & Mistoffelees worked on his magic in the farthest corner.

While the five Jellicle Kittens played, the young Jellicle adults were preparing themselves to defend their cave & their territory. A large group of ten Komodo Dragons were approaching their cave; the large green Lizards had crossed their territorial zone, they were walking right into the Jellicle's zone. The young Jellicle adults – Toms & Felines – outnumbered the ten Komodo Dragons by many; however, the bright & dark green Lizards were huge, had long, large black claws, many sharp teeth, & deadly bacteria in their saliva. Many of the young Jellicle adults were Pride Protectors, having lots of fighting & protecting experience, fighting to protect their territory & their Pride family.

The ten large Lizards continued to approach the Jellicle Pride's territory; the Jellicle adults knew that with every step the Komodo Dragons took they were running out of time to stop them. The Jellicle adults waited anxiously for their Pride Leader to give them the word to fight. Macavity watched the Komodo Dragons, waiting patiently & silently for the signal to fight. The other adult Jellicles were getting more anxious & worrisome by the seconds.

"Sire?" Munkustrap asked nervously as he & Alonzo looked to their Pride Leader for the signal.

"Be patient, Munku." Macavity said as continued to stare at the Komodo Dragon group. The young Jellicle adults breathed hard, retracting & relaxing their claws. The Mystical Twins, Coricopat & Tantomile, could predict that a terrible battle was going to take place right in front of their cave home. Soon Macavity heard the noise that he was waiting for, a hiss from the Leader Komodo Dragon.

"Jellicles! Attack!" Macavity roared. All of the young adult Jellicle Cats roared as they dashed toward the dashing Komodo Dragons, the large green Lizards hissed as they dashed toward the young adult Jellicle Cats.

Pouncival, Jemima, Plato, Skimbleshanks, Rum Tum Tugger, Jonathan, Olivia, Bill, Bailey, Gilbert, Genghis, Crackerbarrel, Carbucketty, Victor, Quaxo, George, Tumblebrutus, Admetus, Coricopat, Tantomile, Exotica, Cassandra, Etcetera, Sillabub Jennyanydots, Ophelia, Bombalurina, Bones, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Zoya, Kiki, Carla, Gerick, Zero, Zera, Wanda, Larry, Demeter, Alonzo, Munkustrap & Macavity all charged right into the group of Komodo Dragons; biting, scratching, slashing & spitting at the large deadly Lizards.

Inside the cave the Jellicle Kittens could hear their adult family members roaring, hissing, slamming & getting slammed to the ground, & slashing & ripping sounds. The sounds horrified the Kittens so much that they began to cry. The Kittens dashed behind their Jellicle Grandparents immediately, Jellylorum & Asparagus did their best to comfort their Grandkittens.

The battle lasted for hours, with a bit of bloodshed from both the Jellicles & the Komodo Dragons. Once the Leader of the Komodo Dragons had ordered his group to retreat the battle had finally come to an end. Fifteen of the young adult Jellicles chased the Komodo Dragons further into the Jellicle Lands, away from their territory & their cave home, while the rest of the young Jellicle adults quickly retreated into their cave.

Demeter dashed into her room, quickly & nervously cleaning herself, & trying to calm herself – preparing to see her frightened, but safe Kittens. The Kittens followed their Grandparents into their Parents' room; once they saw her, the Kittens immediately dashed to their Mother. Demeter cried as she was smothered with purrs, the tiny, warm rubbing faces, cold tears & cold nuzzling noses of her Kittens, & then the same from her Parents. A few minutes later the rest of Jellicles adults entered the cave. Munkustrap dashed into his room, happy to see that his Mate was still alive. The Kittens immediately dashed to their Father, nuzzling his big black scratched up nose, rubbing their tiny warm faces and cold tears against his scratched & bitten cheeks & purring. Munkustrap cried with his Kittens, Demeter walked to her Mate & shared the grief & happiness with her immediate family members. The two Jellicle Parents gave one another a Cat Kiss & spent the rest of their day with their Kittens. The battle with the Komodo Dragons was over, at least for that day. All of the adult Jellicles knew that the Komodos would return some day to do battle with them yet again.

None of the Jellicle Cats of the Jellicle Pride knew that better than the pair of Mystical Twins, Coricopat & Tantomile. The two Cats looked as if they were identical twins from the same litter; but both of the Jellicle Cats were born in a different litter on the very same day. The twins had dark purple, white & black stripes that swirled around their bodies & white & black stripes on their faces. The only way to tell the two apart was by their gender –Coricopat was the Tom & Tantomile was the Feline.

Their pairs of dark violet eyes were used for more than seeing well in the dark, & spotting their prey from a far distance. The Mystical Twins were physic Cats, they could tell the future, see way ahead of time, & they could see what would happen in the present time, if something was going to happen with their pride members Coricopat & Tantomile would know it ahead of time.

However, the two Mystical Twins could not quite predict everything that their Jellicle Nieces & Nephews would do. Although there were many things that the Mystical Twins could predict long before their little Nieces & Nephews could even think about it, there were also many things that seemed to block their telepathic channels. There was only one thing that the Mystical Twins could since that their Nieces & Nephews were going to do together in the future, something that no other Jellicle Cat would dare to do. Although they had no idea what it was exactly, the Mystical Pair knew that it was not going to be something that the Jellicle Pride would appreciate right away – including themselves.

After resting for a little while Pouncival patiently waited for his Nieces & Nephews to visit him. One by one the five Jellicle Kittens dashed toward Pouncival with wide smiles & laughter. The Kittens' Uncles, Alonzo & Tumblebrutus, & their Aunts Violet & Olivia, quickly joined Pouncival & played with their Nieces & Nephews while the rest of the Jellicle adults rested.

While the Jellicles Kittens played with their Uncles, the Wild Wolf Pups were playing tag with one another in their front yard. The Wild Dog Pack was fortunate enough to have a much cleaner front & backyard than that of the Jellicle Cat Pride. The front yard had fresh, moist green grass & moist brown mud; ahead of the backyard there was a large waterfall.

The five Wild Wolf Pups were Jacquie, Kelly, Joshua, Sammy, & Kyle. All five Wolf Pups were born with pure white fur, & every Wolf Pup was unique in their own way.

Kyle was the youngest of his siblings; he was also the most shy of his siblings. Kyle was born with a mental illness – (much like Electra's); however, (just like Electra), Kyle would not allow his mental illness slow him down, nor get the better of him. Kyle was always determined to do what his older siblings could do. He knew he could prove that he was just as good a Boy Wild Dog as all of the Boy Wild Dogs of his Pack. He always did something to make sure that his Parents & his Pack believed in him.

Sammy was the most beautiful of her siblings, but she never let her beauty get to her head. She was also the most thoughtful, considerate, & emotional of her siblings. In a way, Sammy was like the "little mommy" of her litter. She would help her Parents take care of her baby Brother, Kyle, help her Parents clean her siblings, & help scold her siblings when they needed to be scolded. She was also one to give lots of advice to all of her Pack members; when someone was sad, angry, or scared, the Girl Wolf Pup was always ready to help them anyway she could.

Joshua, the middle Pup of his litter, was quite the rough-&-tough Boy Wolf Pup. He often took on any fighting challenge that was given to him; whether the creature was twice his size, deadly, or one of his own Pack members. He would often boast that he was the best wrestler, even if he lost his match. Joshua was also quite the naughty Wolf Pup, getting into mischief with his siblings, his adult Pack members, & even other Forest creatures. But whenever any of his family members needed him Joshua was there for them. He was especially protective of his baby Sister & baby Brother, letting no harm near them. Joshua – (with a little help from his Family Pack Protectors) – protected his whole Pack.

Kelly was the most intelligent & cautious of his siblings. Whenever he was alone, Kelly always found something to experiment with. Whether it was a dead tree branch, a colony of ants, a flower, or the dirt he walked on every day, Kelly found something in his Forest homeland to experiment with. He was also the first of his siblings to always use his brain when it came to games such as hide & seek & tag, he was always a few steps ahead of his siblings. Kelly was the smartest of his Pack, always making his Parents, siblings, & Pack members very happy. Kelly was very modest about it, but he was always happy to be of help.

Finally there was Jacquie, the oldest Wolf Pup of her litter, & her siblings' protector. Jacquie was a natural-born Leader, & the most extreme of her siblings. She was the first Wolf Pup – & only Wolf of her Pack – to try & pull off dangerous stunts like a back flip from a log, playing with a King Cobra, & trying to grow the Red Flower, (fire). And while Joshua was the roughest & toughest of the five Wild Wolf Pups, Jacquie would always beat him at his own wrestling matches. Jacquie was also the most outgoing of her siblings; she often tried to teach her baby Brother how to get over his shyness, & teach Joshua how to defend himself when they wrestled together.

Being the natural-born leader of her siblings, & the oldest Wild Wolf Pup, also made Jacquie an adventurer. She often ventured away from her cave, past the safety zone of her front yard to explore the rest of her Forest homeland. Jacquie wanted to explore all of her Forest homeland, & every bit of land beyond it; it was her dream. She was also one of the last – (often second to last of Joshua) – to do what she was told by her Parents or her other adult Wild Dog family members.

That afternoon was no different for the little adventurous Girl Wild Wolf Pup. While the five Wild Wolf Pups played tag together their Pack Hunter Uncles & Aunts had gone on a hunt. They soon returned to their cave dragging back dinner, a large Bull Bison. The Wild Wolf Pups were hungry as they could be, but their Aunty Paula – a Pug – made her Nieces & Nephews wash their paws in their backyard pond before they could eat. Jacquie tried to be slick & slip by washing her paws; she tried to walk back into her cave with her younger siblings, but one of her Uncles' snatched her by the tail. Jacquie let out a little yelp & looked up at her frowning Uncle Harry – a Brown Timber Wolf. Jacquie shyly smiled at her frowning Uncle Harry & Aunty Paula as she walked back to the pond to clean her paws.

Right after dinner the five Wolf Pups dashed back into their front yard & continued their game of tag. At the same time, Jacquie was planning her escape from the safety zone of her front yard. She hid behind the tall tree trunks that surrounded her cave home, watching & listening to her siblings & adult family members; waiting for the right moment to make her escape. Once she found Kyle – (who was "it") – sniffing the trees near the cave Jacquie made a break for it. She dashed away from the tree trunks & bolted down the dirt path ahead of her. Jacquie dashed until she had reached the entrance to her homeland, & the Hunting Grounds. Jacquie rested on the dry tan dirt in the Hunting Grounds, then she started to walk further into the dry grassland.

She soon found a small yellow Butterfly flying above her head, Jacquie stood on her rear paws & tried to catch it with her front paws. The Butterfly frantically flew away from her, Jacquie chased after it. She was determined to catch the Butterfly, even as it flew too high for her reach. Jacquie dashed on top of a large log, still trying to capture the fragile Insect. Once the Butterfly was out of her sight Jacquie turned her attention to what was directly in front of her. It was a dark gray cloud of dust swirling around & above some kind of horrible wasteland. Jacquie lifted her head to the sky sand sniffed.

"That must be the Bad Lands." Jacquie thought aloud. She & her younger siblings had heard many horrible stories about the Bad Lands; but all of the horror stories, & warnings never to visit the wasteland made her more excited to visit the Bad Lands some day – the homeland of her enemies, the Jellicle Cat Pride. Jacquie thought she had a chance of doing just that; but just as the adventurous Girl Wolf Pup was about to cross the Hunting Grounds, an adult Wild Wolf family member walked right in front of her. The adult Wild Wolf looked down at Jacquie, glaring & shaking his head. Jacquie slowly stepped back, laughing & smiling nervously at her Uncle Toby – a blackish-gray Gray Wolf with gray circular patches around his eyes.

"What have your Parents told you about wandering from home, Niece?" He scolded.

"I'm not wandering, I'm exploring. I explore." Jacquie said proudly, placing her right paw on her chest. Toby kept his straight face, still glaring at his oldest Niece. Jacquie gave her Wild Wolf Uncle a nervous smile.

"Well then, what have they told you about exploring, far from your cave home?" Jacquie looked at the grass & sighed; she mumbled,

"Mommy & Daddy don't want me or my Brothers or Sisters to leave our cave home without their permission or the permission of our older family members." Jacquie shyly looked up into her Uncle's eyes. Toby smiled at his oldest Niece, picked her up & placed her onto his back. Jacquie crawled up to her Uncle's neck & laid her front paws on his head. "All I really wanted to do was to see what was beyond the Hunting Grounds. That was all I was going to explore today. Guess what I saw."

"What did you see, Niece?

"I saw this huge dark cloud; it was hovering above some kind of wasteland."

"Do you really want to know what is beyond these Grounds, Jacquie?"

"I explore. An explorer needs to search for new lands, & find new creatures, &…"

Jacquie's Uncle stopped walking; he closed his eyes & sighed heavily.

"Have you not learned that beyond the Hunting Grounds is a place called the Bad Lands? It is nothing but a wasteland where our worst enemy lives."

"The Jellicle Cats?"

"Yes dear."

"Have you ever seen a Jellicle Cat before, Uncle Toby?"

"Yes I have, a few times in fact. And I never want to see such a hideous-looking creature ever again."

"Why not?"

"Those creatures are extremely dangerous, Jacquie. They are a threat to all Wild Dogs, bigger, smaller, or the same size. We just cannot agree on anything, we will always fight & always try to harm one another, or much worse." Jacquie gasped, Toby realized that he was saying too much. He carefully took Jacquie off of his back & had her look him in the eyes.

"There is something that I want you to promise me."

"What is it?"

"You must promise me; this is especially for when you get older, that you will never let a Jellicle Cat, or any other Cat, get near you. You will fight to the death if you must, before any Cat can claim your life."

"What makes you think that I'll…"

"Just promise me this, Niece. You will not wander off from your cave home, nor your homeland like this anymore. Are we clear?"

"I told you, I don't wander, Uncle Toby, I…" Toby placed his large right front paw on Jacquie's lips.

"I didn't ask if you explore or not. I asked that you stop leaving your cave home & your homeland without adult permission. Are we clear?"

"But Uncle…"

"Jacquie, do you promise?" Toby sternly asked. "Do you promise not to leave the cave without permission?"

Jacquie took a while to answer her Uncle. She just did not want to stay around her cave, & her Forest homeland all of the time. But she also did not want to upset her Uncle Toby at the moment.

"I promise. I promise n-never to wander off again." Toby nuzzled Jacquie's nose & put her on his back again. The two Wild Wolves talked until they reached their territory, Jacquie put on a pouting face as her Uncle walked her into their cave home. Once her Uncle Toby had placed her on the cave floor Jacquie was confronted by her Parents – the Leaders of the Wild Dog Pack. Alpha & Beta glared at their first born Pup, Jacquie shyly smiled at her angry Parents. Knowing what was coming next all Jacquie could do was put her head down & whimper as her both of her Parents gave her one smack on her little bottom with their large paws. Jacquie's younger siblings watched their Parents with horror as they yelled at their oldest Sister. Beta picked Jacquie up & placed her right in front of the "timeout corner" of the cave, Jacquie whimpered & cried in pain as she laid in the there. All Jacquie could do was think about the dark cloud she saw beyond the Hunting Grounds, & the wasteland it hovered above. All Jacquie could do was wonder to herself,

"Was that the Bad Lands I just saw? I wonder, what does it really look like?"

Later that day Jacquie's younger siblings visited her in the timeout corner. Jacquie smiled proudly at her younger siblings, happy to receive hugs & kisses from them.

"Are you ok, big Sis?" Kyle asked.

"I'll be fine. Thanks, little Bro."

"That's good," Sammy said with relief. Standing proudly on her tiny black paws Jacquie told her younger Brothers & baby Sister what she had that day with enthusiasm.

"I heard that it was the place the grown ups call the Bad Lands." Jacquie was suddenly interrupted by the sound of her younger siblings' gasps. The adventurous Girl Wolf Pup laughed at her younger sibling's shocked faces.

"You know we can't go there, Sis." Sammy said with worry.

"That's where the Cats live." Kelly whispered.

"I know that." Jacquie said loudly. "I just wanted to see what that place really looks like."

"But we are forbidden to go there." Kyle said nervously.

"And those Cats, they could hurt us, or worse! Kill us!" Joshua shouted. Jacquie frowned at her middle Brother & shook her head.

"I think you should stop exploring for your own good, Jacquie." Sammy suggested.

"What do you mean? Sammy,"

"Well, you could get lost."

"Not that I already haven't been lost before."

"But what if you get lost, & one of those Cats finds you, &…"

"Being an explorer means taking some risks, Sis. Maybe one day I will meet a Jellicle Cat, & I will fight & defend myself to the death, & make sure that no Cat even thinks about fighting with me again."

"That's right, Sis." Joshua agreed, extending his paw for a paw-five. Kyle & Kelly wagged their tiny white tails & panted, Sammy just shook her head with worry.

"We're all glad that you want to be brave & all, but you have to be more careful about the places you choose to explore." Kelly suggested, Jacquie sighed.

"Honestly, wouldn't you guys like to explore our Forest homeland & all of the lands around it one day?" Kelly, Joshua, Sammy & Kyle all denied their true thoughts, shaking their heads & looking at the cave floor. Jacquie frowned at her younger siblings.

"C'mon you guys, there is so much to see out there besides our Forest home, besides our front yard & our backyard. I don't care if I'm the only Wild Dog who does it, but I'm going to explore my homeland, & all of the lands beyond it!" Jacquie said proudly, her younger siblings stood proudly with her waging their little tails. Jacquie proudly smiled at her younger siblings. For the rest of the day the five Wild Wolf Pups played together.

While the Wolf Pups spent time together, Mistoffelees & his siblings were playing another game of tag in their front yard. It didn't take long for little Mistoffelees to get bored of the game. He hid himself behind a tall dirty boulder, turned around & looked ahead. Beyond his homeland there was nothing but dry, gray dirt, & a cloud of gray dust above his cave home. Although he had never seen what was beyond his homeland, Mistoffelees knew that it was something much better than a wasteland.

"I wonder, what's really out there?" He thought to himself as he tried to sneak away from his front yard.

But just as he was about to leave his spot, Mistoffelees was picked up by one of his adult family members.

"Hey! Put me down!" Mistoffelees ordered, the adult Jellicle Tom carefully placed Mistoffelees back onto the dry dirt & laughed. Mistoffelees turned around; he nervously smiled at his Uncle Skimbleshanks.

"Where do you think you were going, young Tom?"

"I was just going to walk to look at those rocks over there, Uncle Skimble." Mistoffelees fibbed as he pointed to the rocks ahead. Skimbleshanks, a yellow, white & red-orange striped Jellicle Cat, smiled at his Nephew.

"And what is so interesting about those rocks, over there?" He asked. Mistoffelees could not come up with a good answer. The Tom Kitten took a deep breath, exhaled & told his Jellicle Uncle the truth.

"I really want to know what is beyond those rocks. Beyond my homeland, I want to see it for myself, first."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, to see if it's safe for my Sisters, & my Brother."

"But Mistoffelees, you know that is forbidden that you & your Brother & Sisters to leave your cave home without an adult. If you keep this up you may be forbidden to leave at all."

Mistoffelees sighed. Skimbleshanks smiled at his Nephew & walked him back to the front yard.

"Uncle Skimble, what's beyond our homeland?" Mistoffelees asked.

At first Skimbleshanks was afraid to answer his Nephew.

"I will tell you, but only if you promise me that you will not try to sneak away from your cave home anymore. Understood?" Mistoffelees nodded his head & listened to his Uncle. Skimbleshanks turned & pointed to the land ahead of him, covered mostly by a thin cloud of dust. "Beyond this land is the Hunting Grounds, that's where the grown ups & I try to go as much as we can so that we can bring back nice, fresh food like Antelope, Bison & Caribou."

"What's beyond the Hunting Grounds?"

"Beyond that, you really want to know?" Mistoffelees nodded his head. Skimbleshanks gave his Nephew a look of concern. "Beyond the Hunting Grounds," Skimble began, trying his best not to sound frightening to his little Nephew, "Beyond the Hunting Grounds is a place called Dogwood Forest."

"What does it look like?"

"The Forest is a beautiful place, Mistoffelees, but don't be fooled by its beauty. For the Forest name alone is very dangerous."

"Why is that, Uncle Skimble?"

"The Forest is named after our enemy; it is the homeland of the Dogs. Wild Dogs & Wild Wolves, they want nothing more than to fight with us Cats. If you or any of your siblings were to go there by yourself you could be hurt, or killed by one of them." Mistoffelees swallowed hard, Skimbleshanks nuzzled his Nephew's tiny black nose. Then he smiled as he walked back into his cave home. Mistoffelees watched his Uncle Skimbleshanks walk inside his cave home, then he shyly approached his siblings.

"Did you get in trouble?" Rumpelteazer teased.

"I'm not in trouble; I was just spending some time to myself when Uncle Skimble talked me."

"Were you working on your magic?" Electra asked.

"No," Mistoffelees shyly answered, his pale white cheeks turned bright red as he looked at the ground.

"Well, what you doing?" Victoria asked.

"Did you leave our safety zone?" Electra asked.

"No! I didn't even get a chance because Uncle Skimble had stopped me."

"With good reason, too," Victoria scolded.

"You weren't trying' to dash away from home, where you?" Electra asked.

"No, I just want to see what's beyond our homeland, that's all."

"Little Brother wants to see the world." Mungojerrie said proudly as he placed his right paw over his little Brother's shoulder, Mistoffelees shyly smiled at him. "Well, I say go for it. You could be the first to really explore what's beyond our homeland."

"You might find some more creatures to meet." Victoria said.

"Or you might get yourself in bigger trouble." Rumpelteazer mumbled.

"Maybe big Brother will even see a Dog." Electra happily added. At the sound of the word "DOG" the four Jellicle Kittens gasped, looking at their Jellicle Sister with shock. Electra just smiled at them & nodded her head.

"I don't think Mystro wants to see a Dog, Electra." Victoria said.

"Why not?"

"Because those lowlife filthy creatures are killers!" Mungojerrie hissed.

"They are our enemies; you should know that by now, Electra." Rumpelteazer said using a "no, dah" tone of voice. Electra put her head down & began to sob, Victoria gave her big Sister a hug.

"That wasn't very nice, Teazer."

"I know, Vici. I know, but I have to make sure that I protect you both from danger. You're my little Sisters; & you Toms are my only Brothers. I have to protect all of you from danger." Rumpelteazer said as she turned to Mungojerrie & Mistoffelees, pointing at them & giggling.

"Oh yeah? Well, who's going to save you?" Mungojerrie playfully hissed as he playfully pounced on top of Rumpelteazer tickling her tinny tummy. Victoria & Electra both pounced on their oldest Brother & tickled him. The four Jellicle Kittens happily laughed & tickled each other, Mistoffelees just watched his siblings play. While watching his Jellicle siblings play a small thought came to his mind.

"What does a Wild Dog look like?"

Mistoffelees turned & entered his cave home. He searched inside of his cave home for his Grandmother, a Jellicle Feline named Jellylorum. Mistoffelees looked inside his cave home, calling his Grandmother. It didn't take Jellylorum long to hear her youngest Grandson's voice from her room. Jellylorum – a white Jellicle Feline with stripes of brown & black all over her white fur – stood up & stretched. Mistoffelees entered his Grandparents' room, he watched his Grandmother yawn & shake her head, a little something that always seemed to make him laugh. Once she heard her Grandson's laughter Jellylorum looked up & smiled at him.

"What's so funny?" She asked using her Grandmotherly voice. Mistoffelees continued to laugh until his tiny pale white face turned bright red. Then he sat up & asked his Grandmother if she had ever seen a Wild Dog before, Jellylorum's back hairs stood up at her Nephew's question.

"Why do you ask such a question, Grandson?"

"Because I have never seen a real Wild Dog before, Grandma. If I don't know what a Wild Dog looks like, why should I fear it?"

Jellylorum placed her left paw on her Grandson's back & nuzzled his nose.

"Haven't your Mother & Father told you what those hideous creatures look like?" She asked, Mistoffelees shook his head. "Perhaps you should ask them."

"Why can't you tell me, Grandma?" Jellylorum looked at the cave floor; trying her best to contain her anger & sadness, keeping them both away from her Grandson's view. But just hearing the word "DOG" over & over from her Grandson made it a very difficult task.

"Don't cry, Grandma." Mistoffelees said as he rubbed his tiny warm face against his Grandmother's left front leg; Jellylorum's horrible past began to hunt her again.

"I'll be fine, dear. I just need some time to myself, ok?" Mistoffelees' Mother, Demeter, approached the two Jellicles, picked up her Son & walked him into their room. She placed little Mistoffelees on the cave floor & began to clean him. Mistoffelees started to cry.

"What's the matter, Son?" Demeter asked.

"I didn't mean it," Mistoffelees whined.

"Mean what?"

"I didn't mean to hurt Grandma's feelings. I just asked a question & she started crying."

"What did you ask her?"

"I wanted to know if she knew what a Wild Dog looked like." Demeter's back hairs began to stand up. She let gasped, covering her mouth with her front paws. "Please don't be mad at me, Mommy, I just wanted to know."

Demeter gave her youngest Son a look of concern, Mistoffelees looked at his Mother shyly. Demeter sighed, unsure of what to say.

"You know something, Son," Munkustrap said as he entered the room.

"Daddy!" Mistoffelees dashed to his Father & rubbed his face against his front right leg. Munkustrap purred as he bent over & licked the top of his Son's head.

"You're still quite dirty, Mystro."

"I know, Mommy was just cleaning me, & she was going to tell me what a Wild Dog looks like."

Munkustrap looked at his Mate with concern; the two Jellicle adults were silent. Mistoffelees continued to rub his Father's right front leg purring & meowing happily. Munkustrap gave his youngest Son a look of concern.

"Do you really want to know what a Wild Dog looks like, Mistoffelees?" Mistoffelees nodded his head. Demeter sat right next to her Son. Munkustrap stood in front of his youngest Son & Mate, giving them a serious look. Mistoffelees smiled bearing his tiny white teeth, & Demeter laughed to herself as they watched Munkustrap demonstrate his own description of a Wild Dog.

"Creatures with long pointed snouts, small but sharp teeth, big red eyes full of fire & rage. And they make this horrible noise," Munkustrap stood on all four of his paws & made a terrible attempt of a howl. When the other Jellicle adults heard this they hissed & snarled – with the exception of Pouncival, who was only thinking about his Nieces & Nephews & their laughter. When the Jellicle Kittens heard their Father's horrible imitation of a howl they laughed. The four Kittens dashed into their room, laughing at their Father's horrible imitation of a Wild Dog; hopping & howling, & screaming the word "Bark!" Suddenly Munkustrap, Demeter, & their Kittens were startled by a loud roar. Macavity entered the room, with the physic Mystical Twins Coricopat & Tantomile, right behind him. Macavity glared at Munkustrap, the Mystical Twins did the same. Munkustrap put his head down & sat on his cave floor. Macavity slowly approached him.

"You were not acting like one of those filthy mutts, were you?" The angry Pride Leader hissed.

"It was, for the Kittens." Munkustrap said nervously, Macavity continued to hiss at him. Munkustrap turned to his immediate family members, giving them a nervous smile. The Kittens quickly left their room, dashing toward their Grandparents. Demeter walked to her Mate's side as Macavity, Coricopat & Tantomile approached Munkustrap.

"What kind of horrible influences are you giving to your own Kittens? You know that the mutts are hideous creatures!" The Pride Leader shouted.

"We Cats are much more sophisticated, & we do not prance around in such a hideous fashion." Coricopat added.

"We can't even pretend to be Wild Dogs for the…"

"It's forbidden!" Macavity roared. The whole Jellicle Pride cave was silent, the Kittens scattered all over their cave home looking for places to hide. "Pretending to be such mutts is considered treason, Munku. You & Deme both should know that; & know that it is a crime to teach your Kittens, our Pride's only future, how to be like their enemy." Munkustrap put his head down in shame; Demeter rubbed her face against her Mate's & purred. "And not just their enemy, their worst enemy!" Macavity added with a snarl.

"Forgive me, Sire." Munkustrap said. Macavity watched Munkustrap & Demeter sitting next to one another rubbing their heads & purring together. The scene made him jelious, but he was happy for the young Cat couple. Both Coricopat & Tantomile were proud to see that Munkustrap & Demeter were still together. Coricopat & Tantomile were also Mates, they were especially happy for Munkustrap & Demeter; were able to do something that they, nor other Jellicle Mates could not – have Kittens. While Macavity & Coricopat left Munkustrap & Demeter, Tantomile stuck around for a short while. She approached the Jellicle Cat couple giving them a gentle smile. Munkustrap & Demeter smiled at Tantomile, more than ready to hear her good advice.

"Perhaps it is best if the Kittens were taught to fear the Wild Dogs. Instead of making it fun & games make it a serious matter. Not to frighten them, but to help the Kittens understand why they must be strong, willing to do what it takes to defend themselves from our enemy." Munkustrap & Demeter smiled at one another, then they smiled back at Tantomile. Tantomile returned the smile & left the Jellicle couple's room. Tantomile walked to a small pile of medium-sized rocks to find one of her Niece's hiding behind them.

"What's the matter, dear?" Tantomile asked.

"What was the noise?" Electra asked as she shivered, Tantomile placed her paw on her Niece's back & smiled.

"It was only our Family Leader."

"Was he mad?" Rumpelteazer asked as she & her siblings approached their physic Aunt.

"He was,"

"For what?" Mungojerrie asked. Tantomile was about to answer her oldest Nephew's question when Mistoffelees began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Victoria asked, but Tantomile already knew what her youngest Nephew was thinking about. Before Mistoffelees could answer his baby Sister Tantomile placed her right front paw over his lips. Then she spoke to her Nieces & Nephews.

"You Kittens know how dangerous the Wild Dogs are, right?"

"Of course we do." Rumpelteazer said proudly.

"And you know that we, as Jellicle Cats, should not act like Wild Dogs."

"But Daddy was funny," Electra laughed, her siblings laughed with her. Tantomile took a deep breath & let out a long soft hiss, the Kittens stopped their laughter immediately. Startled they looked at each other, then at their Aunty Tantomile again.

"Well, because your Father acted like a Wild Dog he got himself into big trouble by our Pride Leader."

"Daddy's in trouble?" Victoria asked, Tantomile laughed to herself.

"He was in trouble today, but he won't do it again."

"Daddy is not a Wild Dog, but why is it so bad that he acts like one?" Mungojerrie asked.

"The Wild Dogs are so dangerous that acting them is dangerous."

"Why?" All five Jellicle Kittens asked at once. Their Aunty Tantomile explained all of the horrible things that their Wild Dog enemies were known for. The Jellicle Kittens listened with excitement, fear, & enthusiasm. Once their physic Aunt was done explaining everything that made the Wild Dogs a Jellicle Cat's enemy the Kittens rubbed their faces against her legs & purred. Tantomile nuzzled their tiny black noses & let them play with one another. Once night fell the Kittens gathered together in their room with their Parents, forming a circle in the middle of their room floor & talking with each other until they felt sleepy. Just as Mistoffelees was about to fall asleep, Victoria nuzzled his little black nose. Mistoffelees let out a little yawn and rubbed his eyes with his tiny white paws.

"What's the matter, Vici?" He asked.

"I can't sleep."

"You can never sleep." Rumpelteazer yawned.

"But I really can't sleep tonight. Daddy got in trouble."

"He's not in trouble anymore, Sis." Mungojerrie yawned. Mistoffelees smiled at his big Brother, then he put his head down to sleep when another thought crossed his mind. Mistoffelees whispered to is siblings,

"Daddy must have seen a Wild Dog before."

"What's the big deal?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"Well, we haven't seen a Wild Dog before, so how can they be scary?"

"Daddy showed you how scary the Wild Dogs are, right?" Mungojerrie asked.

"Daddy was funny," Mistoffelees giggled.

"Yeah, but Daddy got in trouble, Brother. He can't act like a creature that he is not." Rumpelteazer said.

"Daddy always tells us that the Wild Dogs are scary." Victoria said.

"And dangerous, too." Electra added.

"But Daddy was funny. He made it look like it would be fun to be a Wild Dog." At the sound of that the Mistoffelees siblings gasped. With a smile on his face Mistoffelees bravely stood up & left his room, his siblings followed him around their cave home. Once he found his Father Mistoffelees dashed right next to him. He rubbed his little pale white face against his Father's left leg, Munkustrap smiled at his youngest Son. Not too far away Demeter was lying on the cave floor, proudly smiling at her Mate & her youngest Son when the rest of her Kittens dashed to her. Demeter played with her Kittens, while watching Munkustrap & Mistoffelees bond together. Mistoffelees looked at his Father's smiling face & giggled.

"What's so funny, Son?" Munkustrap asked. Mistoffelees burst into loud giggles; Munkustrap tickled his Son until his little white cheeks turned bright red. Then Mistoffelees asked his Father,

"Do you know what a Wild Dog really looks like, Daddy?" Munkustrap's smiling face quickly turned into a face of concern. He looked to his Mate for consent; Demeter silently smiled & nodded her head. Munkustrap picked up his youngest Son & took him into their room.

"I'm going to tell you the truth, Son. And I want you to promise me that you will listen carefully."

"I promise, Daddy." Munkustrap nuzzled his Mistoffelees nose. Then he took a deep breath & told his youngest Son a true story about the day that he & his Mate came face to face with a real group of Wild Dogs.

"Your Mother & I were just walking home, after having a nice meal by a waterfall. We were not too far away from it, when out of nowhere these strange creatures leapt from the bushes right in front of the two of us. Your Mother & I dashed as fast as we could away from those strange, hideous-looking creatures. And then, I heard your Mother yowl."

"Was Mommy ok?" Mistoffelees worried.

"She was alright. But she had to fight against those two strange creatures while I dashed to rescue her. And then I heard one of them make a loud noise; the same terrible howling noise that I had made before." Mistoffelees gasped. "And then he said something like this,"

"You dumb fur-lickers better get off our territory, or else!"

"Fur-lickers?" Mistoffelees asked.

"That was the horrible name that those creatures had called us, your Mother & I were horrified. The two of us tried to dash out of their territory like they demanded, but the creatures made it hard for us to do so. Those creatures would get in front of us, & circle us, & then they started to chase after us. Soon the two of us were fighting for our very lives." Mistoffelees gasped again.

"Did Mommy get hurt?"

"Only a little, dear." Demeter said as she brought the rest of her Kittens into their room.

"Mommy!" Mistoffelees cried as he dashed to Demeter, giving her a tight hug while rubbing his tiny pale white face against her right front leg purring & crying. Demeter placed her right front paw on her Son's back rubbing it gently & nuzzling Mistoffelees nose. Munkustrap continued his story, all five of his Kittens & his Mate listened.

"The two of us fought these demon creatures until we were much too tired, then we dashed as far & fast as we could from them. Those creatures followed us to another waterfall, where the two of us had no choice but to jump. Those creatures were determined to make us suffer, for they had followed us down there; but once your Mother & I had made it to shore we had found them dead."

"Dead!" The Kittens screamed with horror.

"Yes, it was a horrible sight. But even worse was the sight of my Brother, your Uncle Alonzo."

"The Wild Dogs beat up Uncle Alonzo!" Mungojerrie shouted with disbelief. The Kittens waited for their Father to answer them, but before he could Alonzo had stepped into the room & spoke.

"Those Wild Dogs would have taken your Parents' lives if I were not there to help them. They had almost taken my own life, but I was strong." The Kittens laughed at their Jellicle Uncle flexing his muscles & scrunching his face, Demeter & Munkustrap laughed. Alonzo smiled at his big Brother & baby Sister-in-Law, then he smiled at his giggling Nieces & Nephews. "It was very important for me to rescue my family. If I was not there, or perhaps another fellow Jellicle, to help your Parents fight those hideous creatures all of you would not be here." The five Jellicle Kittens gasped.

"We wouldn't be here at all!" Victoria asked with shock. Munkustrap & Demeter giggled, & before Alonzo could answer his baby Niece's question Rumpelteazer asked,

"How did we get here in the first place?" Munkustrap & Demeter blushed, trying their best to hold in their laughter, Alonzo blushed as well. "What's so funny? I just want to know?" The Kittens' Parents & their Uncle burst into loud laughter.

"We'll tell you another day, ok?" Rumpelteazer put on a pouting face as she folded her front legs. Alonzo ticked her tiny chin, making his Tiger-stripped Niece giggle. Then he continued to explain what made his rescue so important. "Most importantly, there would not be any Jellicle to help expand our Pride."

"How did you know that those creatures were Wild Dogs, Uncle?" Mungojerrie asked.

"We were told by our Family Leader." Alonzo said proudly. Macavity was silently walking around his cave home, checking in on his Pride members. Watching Alonzo & the Kittens' Parents together with their offspring made him feel proud to be the Pride Leader.

"What did the Wild Dogs want to hurt you for, Mom?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"We are not quite sure, dear." Demeter answered.

"We believe it is because the Wild Dogs did not like us, they just hate Cats."

"So we Cats should hate them?" Mungojerrie asked.

"We must fear them." Munkustrap said.

"But do we need to hate them?" Mistoffelees asked.

"Of course," Alonzo said as he rubbed his youngest Nephew's head. Mistoffelees frowned & folded his front legs.

"But, I haven't seen a Wild Dog before. Why should I hate them?"

"Did you not hear the story that Mommy & Daddy just told us?" Rumpelteazer scolded.

"Those mean old Dogs tried to kill Mommy & Daddy." Electra said, she dashed to her Jellicle Parents giving both of them a hug.

"And they tried to kill our Uncle, too." Mungojerrie added.

"And if they had, you Kittens wouldn't be here today." Munkustrap said.

"All the more reason to fear them," Demeter added.

"And to hate them?" Electra asked, Alonzo nodded his head smiling at his Niece. The Jellicle Kittens played with their Parents & their Uncle Alonzo until they were too tired to play. The Kittens laid next to one another, curled up their little furry bodies & slowly fell asleep.

While the Jellicle Kittens were fast asleep, the five Wild Wolf Pups were busy playfully nipping at one another & chasing their siblings' tails all around their cave home. The Wolf Pups were all booming with lots of energy that night, it was a struggle for their adult family members to settle them down. Finally the Pups' Mother – Beta, a Red Wolf & Alpha Female of her Pack – took her Pups to their room and made them lie down.

"Mommy, I'm bored." The Wolf Pups complained, Beta smiled.

"It's time for you five to get some sleep."

"But we're not sleepy," Kyle moaned as he let out a big yawn, his eyes half way open.

"Jacquie & I were still wrestling each other, & I was winning." Joshua said proudly, Jacquie frowned at her middle Brother.

"No! I was the one who was winning!" Jacquie shouted.

"No! I was!" Joshua shouted back, the two Wolf Pups continued to argue until their Father – Alpha, a Gray Wolf & Alpha Male of his Pack – entered his room.

"Stop all of this nonsense." He ordered, Jacquie & Joshua were silent. Alpha smiled at his Pups & nuzzled their noses. Just before he could nuzzle his Mate's nose Jacquie to called her Father.

"Yes dear?" Alpha said as he nuzzled Beta's nose

"Daddy, I have a question. It's been killing me for quite some time." Jacquie said seriously, her Parents laughed.

"What is it, dear?" Beta asked as she continued to nuzzle Alpha's nose.

"Well, you remember the other night when you & Daddy were talking about the Jellicle Cats? I was wondering, what do Jellicle Cats look like?"

Alpha & Beta stared at one another with concern. During that time – (or supposedly during the time that they were talking about the Jellicle Cats) – was during one of the Wild Dog Pack's late night meetings. During those particular meetings the adult Wild Dogs were the only members of the Pack that were awake, the Pups were always put to rest before such long meetings. Alpha & Beta were surprised their Daughter had even asked such a question.

"What do they look like, Mommy?" Jacquie asked Beta, assuming that her Father did not know, or did not want to tell her at the time. Beta took a deep breath; giving her Pups a look of concern as she explained to them what Jellicle Cats looked like.

"The Jellicle Cats are hideous looking creatures. They have blood red fur, spiky manes that cover their heads & bodies, ears pointer than ours, & very long & sharp teeth."

"They also have claws that they can pull in, & take out of their paws." Alpha added. "Unfortunately we Wild Dogs cannot do that. And those hideous creatures make the horrible noises."

"What horrible noises?" Sammy asked.

"One of them sounds just a like Snake, a loud hissing sound. Another noise the Jellicle Cats make is so loud that it sounds like rolling thunder. Whenever you hear this noise you Pups dash away from it as fast & far as you can."

"Have you ever really seen a Jellicle Cat before, Daddy?" Jacquie asked. Alpha's smile quickly turned into a face of horror. He took a deep breath, then sat in front of his Pups.

"I have, & I will never forget how hideous that creature looked. Or what it had done to my family, what it had done to my Father."

"Aren't we your family, Daddy?" Joshua asked, Alpha & Beta giggled.

"Of course you our, dear." Beta said as she nuzzled her middle Pup's nose, Joshua smiled proudly.

"Daddy, what happened to your family?" Kyle asked.

"What happened to your Daddy?" Jacquie asked.

"And what do they have to do with the Jellicle Cats?" Kelly asked. Alpha laid on his room floor in front of his Pups. He took a deep breath, & shared his saddest Puphood memory; the day he & his Parents saw a real Jellicle Cat.

"I was only a Pup myself when my Parents & I had seen such a hideous creature. We were getting a drink of water by a pond, when out of nowhere this loud strange noise came from the bushes. It was so loud that it frightened me & my Parents, nearly to death. My Mother quickly picked me up and she & my Father dashed away from the pond as fast as they could. We were almost near our cave home when suddenly, a huge, red Catlike creature leapt from the bushes next to us. That creature made a hissing sound just like a Snake; & it bared teeth so long, large, yellow & sharp that if looks could kill all three of us would have died there." The Wild Wolf Pups gasped.

"Did the Jellicle Cat attack you?" Kelly asked.

"It had attacked my Father. My Mother had rushed me home so fast that all I remember seeing was that Cat jumping on top of my Father's back. I heard horrible ripping & hissing sounds, but I couldn't see my Father at all. When I was home my Mother & I, & the whole Pack anxiously awaited for my Father's return. He didn't come home until the very next morning; but when my Father had come home he was not the same." Alpha covered his teary eyes with his front paws. His Pups dashed to his side, laying close to his face & trying to comfort him with nose nuzzles & licking his face. Beta sat on her Mate's left side, kissing the top of his head. Alpha lifted his head & continued his story,

"That Cat had torn my Father apart, no matter what the Pack did to wake him up they couldn't. My Father had died that day because of that evil creature. That hideous creature had taken my Father's life, & I vowed that I would get revenge, only to hear that the Cat was later killed by my Pack Hunters. I was happy, because that filthy, hideous, evil creature was dead. And I swore that if I had ever run into another Jellicle Cat, or any other Cat for that matter, I would fight them."

"I would fight them, too, Daddy." Joshua proudly agreed. The rest of his siblings agreed, with the exception of Jacquie. The oldest Wild Wolf Pup frowned & shook her head with disagreement. Noticing her oldestDaughter's sudden gesture Beta picked Jacquie up & quickly walked her out of their room. Beta set Jacquie on top of a small rock & nuzzled her nose, a little gesture to let her know that she was not in any trouble. Jacquie looked at the cave floor & frowned.

"What's the matter, dear?"

"I don't understand. Daddy says that the Jellicle Cats are evil, hideous creatures, & that they make horrible noises. But,"

"Yes?"

"Well, have you ever seen a nice Jellicle Cat before?" Beta sighed.

"I'm afraid that I cannot say I have."

Jacquie sighed, Beta placed her right front paw on her Daughter's back. Jacquie gave her Wild Wolf Mother a hug.

"Mommy, I would like to think that all creatures could be nice."

"I'm sure you do, Jacquie. I would like to feel the same, but it is not how this world works. We have our enemies, & the Jellicle Cats are our main ones. We must fear them,"

"Must we really fear them, Mommy? Can't there be at least one nice Jellicle Cat somewhere?" Beta smiled at Jacquie & shook her head, Jacquie put her head down & yawned.

"It's looks like somebody needs some rest."

"Good night, Mommy." Jacquie said as Beta took her back into their room for the night.

That night while the rest of their family members were fast asleep, both Mistoffelees & Jacquie were wide awake with wonder. Although their Parents, (particularly their Fathers), told them their horrifying stories about the other kind the two offspring were still wondering if there were any nice creatures on the other kind's side. Truthfully, all of the offspring, both Jellicle Kitten & Wild Wolf Pup, did not completely know what to think about each other's kind. Jacquie & Mistoffelees were not so sure to believe their family members' horrifying stories of their enemies' past evil against their Parents. The two offspring could not see how the other creature was so evil if they never even got a chance to see them for themselves. Although they may have found the other kind evil & scary, was it that way with every single one of their enemies' kin? How could they be enemies if they hadn't even seen the other creature's kin before? While resting that night Mistoffelees & Jacquie both came up with a plan to answer their questions:

"I'll sneak out tomorrow morning and find out for myself what the other creature really looks like."They thought to themselves, both offspring got their rest that night & immediately planned their escapes the next morning after breakfast.

Chapter 2: The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups Meet

Early the very next morning the Wild Wolf Pups were playing hide & seek in their front yard. While playing hide & seek with her younger siblings Jacquie decided it was the perfect time to put her escape plan into action. Jacquie carefully & quietly crept around the tree trunks she hid behind. While her younger siblings continued to play their game of hide & seek, & one of their Uncles was watching the Pups play, neither of them knew that Jacquie was creeping closer & closer to the safety zone of her front yard. Jacquie continued to creep until she crept right past the safety zone; once she was past the safety zone Jacquie continued to use the cover of the tree trunks to hide her little pure white body from her younger siblings', & her Uncle Shep's view. Once she felt she was far enough from her front yard Jacquie quickly dashed away from her front yard, dashing until she reached the edge of the Hunting Grounds. Jacquie took a short break to catch her breath before dashing further into the Hunting Grounds.

While Jacquie traveled further into the Hunting Grounds, Mistoffelees was playing tag with his siblings in their front yard. While the five Jellicle Kittens ran around their front yard their Uncle Rum Tum Tugger kept a close eye – (at least one of his eyes) – on his Nieces & Nephews. But to Tugger's disadvantage, (as well as the disadvantage of every other Jellicle Cat), Mistoffelees had magic on his side. He was working vigorously on his disappearing act earlier that morning, & he had worked on it long enough to plan his escape from his homeland safety zone. Mistoffelees hid behind a large gray boulder; there the Tom Kitten meditated deeply, making his dull black & white fur coat magically transform into a black & white fur coat one with gold-colored sparkles all over it. Mistoffelees looked at his tiny white front paws shimmering with golden sparkles, with two claps of paws Mistoffelees little body instantly turned clear. He was not with few of any of his siblings, nor the rest of his Pride. Once he had knew his disappearing magic had worked Mistoffelees dashed away from his front yard, dashed past its safety zone, & into the Hunting Grounds. Once he was too tired to dash Mistoffelees rested & caught his breath.

Jacquie, who was on the other edge of the Hunting Grounds, began to explore the large landmass of dry yellow grass. After catching his breath Mistoffelees began to do the same on his side on the dry yellow grassland. Both offspring sniffed the ground & the air, looking around with curiosity. Neither one of the offspring realized that they were walking straight in the same path as the other. They soon discovered this when they heard one another sniffing near by. Curiously but cautiously Jacquie and Mistoffelees crept toward a tall wall of tall yellow grass; listening to one another sniffs & footsteps. Once both offspring were in front of the wall of grass they stuck their tiny black noses through it, & as soon as the two offspring had touched noses they were startled. Jacquie & Mistoffelees both jumped back; the tiny hairs on Mistoffelees back stood up & Jacquie tucked her tiny tail under her bottom. Mistoffelees unleashed his tiny white claws & Jacquie began to growl.

"Who are you?" Mistoffelees demanded, Jacquie didn't answer at first. "Answer me!" Mistoffelees demanded again.

"Who are you?" Jacquie sassily demanded as she backed away from the tall wall of grass & barked. Afraid, but determined to find the voice, Mistoffelees leapt over the wall of tall grass. Once he had landed in front of Jacquie & saw her face he was puzzled. Jacquie was just as puzzled once she saw Mistoffelees face. The two offspring sniffed one at another's faces, touching noses for the second time. Mistoffelees was surprised by how cold & wet Jacquie's nose was; it was surprisingly cold for a Jellicle Cat – which was not the kind of creature that Jacquie looked like to the Tom Kitten. To Jacquie, Mistoffelees now was surprisingly small for a Wild Dog - which was not the kind of creature that Mistoffelees looked like the Girl Wolf Pup. Then Mistoffelees bravely asked Jacquie,

"What are you?"

"Me? I'm a Wolf. What are you?"

"What's a Wolf?"

"I'm a type of, Wild Dog." Jacquie nervously answered.

"Wild Dog?" Mistoffelees nervously asked.

Remembering his Parents' horrifying story, Mistoffelees began to back away.

"Wait! Don't go! I just want to know, that's all." Mistoffelees stopped backing away, frowning at Jacquie. Then he silently nodded his head.

"Yes, that's what I am. And you are a Wild Dog, am I right?" Jacquie silently nodded her head. There was a moment of silence between the two offspring, then Jacquie spoke.

"So, do you look like all Jellicle Cats?" She asked as she slowly & cautiously approached Mistoffelees. The Jellicle Tom Kitten giggled laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jacquie asked with a smile.

"Of course I don't look like all of my family, I just happen to have black & white fur. Some of my family members have many different colors on their fur. What about your family?" Mistoffelees asked as he, too, slowly & cautiously approached Jacquie.

"Some of my family members have red fur, others have black or gray fur. Some are tan, brown & cream-colored all over. I only have white fur, & so do my Brothers & my Sister. Do you have Brothers & Sisters? "

"Yes. I have one big Brother & three little Sisters."

"I have three little Brothers & a little Sister. I'm the oldest." Jacquie said proudly.

"My big Brother, Mungojerrie, he's the oldest."

"Mon-go-Jerry?" Jacquie said to best of her ability.

"Oh, our names may be a bit hard to say at first." Mistoffelees blushed. "I'll have to teach you how to spell his name."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Mistoffelees." Jacquie gave the Jellicle Kitten a puzzled look.

"I'll teach you how to say my name, too. What's your name?"

"Jacquie."

"Jacquie, that's an easy name to say."

"Thank you. I am willing to learn how to say your name, too."

"Great." Mistoffelees smiled, then he taught Jacquie how to say his name.

"Miss – Stof – Fell – Eees, Mist-Off-Lees, Mistoffelees!"

"That's right." The Jellicle Tom Kitten said proudly.

"That's a cool name!" Jacquie laughed, Mistoffelees took a bow.

"Thanks." Soon the two offspring started to have a friendly conversation with one another. Both offspring were having so much fun talking with one another that they had completely forgotten that they were enemies. Neither Jacquie nor Mistoffelees felt threatened by one another, the offspring felt like they had become good friends. Soon Mistoffelees felt like playing a game of tag with his new Wild Wolf friend. He tapped Jacquie's right shoulder,

"Tag! You're it!" He shouted as laughed & dashed away from Jacquie. Jacquie laughed & chased after her Jellicle Kitten friend.

While Jacquie & Mistoffelees played tag together on the Hunting Grounds, their siblings were still playing their games of tag together in their front yards. It did not take the eight offspring long to discover that one of their siblings was missing.

"Where is Jacquie?" The Wild Wolf Pups barked.

"Where is Mistoffelees?" The Jellicle Kittens meowed. It soon became clear to the eight offspring that their fun & games were all over. They had thoughts of telling their Parents & adult family members about their missing siblings, but they knew that it would get them in trouble – & that they would suffer from their missing siblings' punishment.

"We've got to find Mistoffelees ourselves," Mungojerrie suggested. "Let's go."

"But Jerrie, we can't pass our safety zone." Said Victoria.

"Or leave our cave home without our Parents' permission." Said Electra.

"But we must. Our Brother is missing," said Rumpelteazer. "We have to find him before he gets in trouble. Or worse, before he gets hurt or worse…"

"Calm down, Teazer. We'll find him." Mungojerrie said. His three little Jellicle Sisters followed Mungojerrie past their Bad Land safety zone, & walked right onto the Hunting Grounds. Jacquie & Mistoffelees were still playing their game of tag when Mistoffelees was out of breath. Jacquie approached her Jellicle Kitten friend.

"Are you alright, Mistoffelees?" She asked.

"I, feel, tired," the Jellicle Tom Kitten huffed and puffed. "I'm thirsty. I better go back home & get myself some water."

"Wait, I know where we can get some water."

"Really? Where?"

"In the Forest."

"The F-Forest?" Mistoffelees asked nervously.

"It's my home, I know it pretty well."

"Uh, are there any other Wild Dogs in the Forest, besides your family?"

"There are, but I've never seen them." Jacquie looked at her Kitten friend. Mistoffelees was panting hard – like a Dog – & that made Jacquie feel sorry for him. "I'll show you where the water is, but only if you want follow me into the Forest."

"I'm, not scared of your Forest home, ok. I just don't want to get into trouble, or get hurt, or..."

"Don't worry; I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise, just stay close to me, ok?" Mistoffelees shyly smiled at his Wolf Pup friend & followed her into Dog Wood Forest. Jacquie brought her Jellicle Kitten friend to a huge pond, full of cool, clear, clean water. Mistoffelees cautiously approached the pond. Jacquie placed her little pink tongue into the water & started to drink from the pond water. Mistoffelees slowly placed his tiny black nose onto the surface of the pond. The surface was so cold that it made Mistoffelees back hairs stand; he jumped up & backed away from the pond.

"What's the matter?"

"That water is so cold."

"It's always been cold."

"Not my water at home. It's a lot warmer."

"Really?"

"And it's brown."

"Brown? Why is your water brown?"

"Well, actually it's a very dark brown, almost black."

"Black?" Jacquie gave Mistoffelees a puzzled look.

"The water that we drink is the same water that we bathe in, & we have soiled around it." Mistoffelees blushed, Jacquie started to blush as well. "We Cats are pretty dirty." Mistoffelees sadly admitted. Jacquie thought otherwise; she found Mistoffelees to be rather clean – especially where there was white fur on his little body. Mistoffelees face was so pale white to Jacquie that she could barely detect a hint of dirt on it. Mistoffelees slowly approached the edge of the pond again. He looked into the water & saw his own face. Jacquie approached her Tom Kitten friend, looked into the pond & made a funny face. Mistoffelees laughed a squeakily, making Jacquie do the same.

"I can see my face, & I can see your face." Mistoffelees said with excitement.

"Our water is clear enough to see our faces."

"I can't see my face in my water at home. I wish I could."

"Mistoffelees, are you going to try it?"

"Try what?"

"Try the pond water?"

"Oh."

"What does your water taste like?"

"It taste horrible, it taste, like dirt."

"Dirt is pretty nasty tasting, but this water shouldn't taste bad. Try it."

Mistoffelees stuck his little pink tongue into the pond water; once he took a lap of it he was very surprised.

"This water taste good! Really good!"

"I always thought it tasted good." Jacquie said happily.

Mistoffelees continued to drink the pond water until he was full. Suddenly he & Jacquie could hear rumbling noises.

"I think my tummy is rumbling."

"Mine too. What do you Wild Dogs eat?"

"We eat Deer, & Antelope, & Bison, & Caribou."

"You guys eat a lot of good foods. Me & my family eat Rabbits, & Squirrels, & Mice & Rats."

"We eat them, too."

"Do you eat them every day?"

"No, we eat fruits & vegetables, too. My Pack eats more Deer & Caribou than anything. But I'm not old enough to hunt yet."

"Me neither. Jacquie, what are fruits & vegetables?" Jacquie tried to explain to her Kitten friend what fruits & vegetables were by describing some of the fruits & vegetables that her Pack Gatherers brought to her cave home. Mistoffelees remained confused.

"I know! I could show you what strawberries are!"

"Strawberries? What are strawberries?"

"One of many Forest fruits that tastes so good, you should try some."

"Where are they?"

"Follow me." Jacquie took Mistoffelees deeper into her Forest homeland. Both offspring sniffed the air.

"What's that smell?" Mistoffelees asked.

"That would be the sweet smell of strawberries. See that bush over there?" Jacquie pointed to a large, green leafy bush with lots of big red fruits hanging on it. The two offspring approached the bush side by side; Jacquie pulled a strawberry off of the bush & handed it to Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees placed the strawberry onto the Forest floor & sniffed it. Then he took a small bite & chewed a piece of the big red fruit. The strawberry was so sweet that Mistoffelees felt it burn his cheeks a little.

"It's very sweet." He said while continuing to chew on his piece of strawberry.

"That's what makes strawberries taste so good." Jacquie pulled another strawberry off of the bush & munched on it.

While the two creature friends ate strawberries together their siblings continued to search for them. Mistoffelees siblings were walking through the Hunting Grounds, calling his name as they continued their search for him.

"Mistoffelees! Mistoffelees!" They meowed, but their Brother did not answer. Jacquie's siblings were walking through their Forest homeland howling & barking their big Sister's name.

"Jacquie! Jacquie!" Jacquie did not answer her siblings. The eight offspring began to panic.

"We'll never find our Brother." Electra moaned.

"We'll find him," Mungojerrie said with confidence, "We have to keep on looking." Mungojerrie sniffed the dry, tan-colored Hunting Ground dirt. "Mystro was here!"

"And he was here with another creature, look!" Electra shouted as she pointed to a small pair of paw prints in the dry dirt. The four Jellicle Kittens looked at the paw print pairs with horror. Out of curiosity Electra placed her paw into her big Brother's small paw prints, & then she placed them into the small paw prints of the other creature.

"Those paw prints definitely belong to another creature, look!" Electra showed her siblings the difference between the two paw prints by continuously placing her paws into to the two different pairs.

"We better follow these paw prints." Mungojerrie suggested. The Jellicle Kittens followed the paw prints until they had reached the entrance to Dog Wood Forest.

"That creature took our Brother into the Forest!" Rumpelteazer shouted.

"We have to go after him! Let's go!" Without a moment's hesitation Mungojerrie dashed into Dog Wood Forest.

"Jerrie, wait!" Victoria shouted as she & her big Sisters dashed after their big brother. Rumpelteazer was able to catch up with Mungojerrie, but her two little Sisters were not.

"Hey, wait for me!" Electra begged as she tried to keep up with her siblings; but the poor mentally retarded Kitten was too slow – the slowest runner of her siblings.

"Could you two slow down a little bit, please?" Victoria begged as she tried to keep up with Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer.

"We can't stop now, Mystro could be in danger!" Mungojerrie shouted as he & Rumpelteazer continued to dash across the Forest path as fast as they could. Unfortunately – (for the slowest dasher of the Jellicle Kittens) – it did not take long for Electra to get tired. She stopped dashing & began to walk slowly across the Forest floor; breathing heavily the clear, cool, clean air of Dog Wood Forest. Electra stopped & sat in front of a tall tree; there she lay down, folded her ears back in fear & cried. Victoria, however, was determined to catch up to her older siblings – that was until she realized that Electra was no longer with her. Victoria stopped dashing & called her big Sister's name.

"Electra! Electra!" She called, but her Sister did not answer her. "She could be lost! That's not good." Victoria walked down another Forest path searching for her big Sister. Suddenly another thought came to her.

"I could be lost! This really isn't good!"Victoria quietly walked down the Forest path; every now & then she called her older siblings names, but neither of them answered her.

Kelly, Joshua, Sammy and Kyle were also separated in their Forest homeland. Joshua and Sammy were the first to find each other.

"Have you seen Jacquie?" Joshua asked.

"No, & I haven't seen Kelly or Kyle. This is bad."

"Very bad." Let's look for them together." Joshua & Sammy continued their search for their three siblings together. Mean while Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer were still dashing down another one of the Forest's dirt paths.

"Jerrie lets slow down." Rumpelteazer suggested.

"We can't, Mystro could be in trouble, Teazer."

"But Ele & Vici aren't with us, Jerrie. They're missing!"

"What!" Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer stopped dashing immediately. The two Jellicle Kittens were horrified knowing that their only Brother, & now their three little Sisters were missing.

"What do we do know, big Brother?"

"We have to…" Mungojerrie trailed off to sniff the air.

"What's the matter?"

"I smell something."

"What?"

"I don't know, Teazer. Don't you smell it, too?"

Rumpelteazer lifted her head high in the air v sniffed. She, too, could smell that some kind of Forest creatures were nearby. Both of the Jellicle Kittens followed their noses to the smell; soon Joshua & Sammy could smell that there were other kinds of creatures in their Forest homeland. The four offspring followed their noses curiously to one another's scents. Then, Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer had appeared from a corner, where they could see the Joshua & Sammy ahead of them.

"Are they Cats?" Rumpelteazer asked her big Brother.

"I'm not sure, Sis. Stay close to me." Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer cautiously approached the two Wolf Pups. Once Joshua & Sammy saw the two Tiger-striped Jellicle Kittens they, too, were wondering what kind of creatures they were seeing.

"Are they stripped Wild Dogs?" Sammy asked her big Brother.

"I have no idea. None of our family members are striped." The two Wolf Pups sniffed the air, watching Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer cautiously approaching them.

"Perhaps they mean us no harm."Mungojerrie thought to himself.

"I sure hope these strange Dogs are friendly."Sammy thought to herself.

"They can't be Dogs, Dogs have spots not stripes."Joshua thought to himself.

"Those two sure do look strange for Cats."Rumpelteazer thought to herself.

Once the four offspring were close enough to touch noses they did, then they gave each other a puzzled look.

"Who are you guys?" Joshua asked.

"My name is Mungojerrie. And this is my little Sister, Rumpelteazer."

"Hi," Rumpelteazer said smiling shyly waving her right paw.

"My name is Joshua, but you can just call me Josh. And this is my little Sister, Sammy."

"Hello," Sammy said with a shy smile. "We're looking for our older Sister. Have you two seen her?"

"What's your Sister's name?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"Jacquie." Sammy answered.

"What does your Sister look like?" Mungojerrie asked.

"Like us." Joshua laughed. "She has white fur, pointy ears, & a small fluffy tail."

"We're looking for some one, too." Rumpelteazer mentioned.

"Really, who?" Sammy asked.

"Our Brother, Mistoffelees. He has black and white fur, a small black tail with a white tip, small white paws, & a small white face. Have you seen him?"

"I don't think so, but we could find help you find him."

"But Joshua, we have to find Jacquie, too." Sammy reminded her big Brother.

"Maybe they had found each other." Rumpelteazer thought aloud. Mungojerrie turned to Joshua; he still could not, for the life of him, figure out if he was a Cat or a Dog. Joshua felt the same way about Mungojerrie. Then he asked the Jellicle Tom Kitten,

"What are you?"

"Me? I'm a Jellicle Kitten…"

"Jerrie!" Rumpelteazer shouted.

"What?" Mungojerrie asked as he turned to his little Sister. At the sound of the word "Kitten", Joshua felt threatened. He had remembered a day when he & his Uncle Tundra – (an Arctic Fox) – had told him what baby Cats were called. Mungojerrie turned back to Joshua & Sammy.

"Are you two Wild Dogs?" He asked with a snarl.

"Get out of our Forest!" Joshua barked. Mungojerrie snarled. The two male offspring began to fight, their little were horrified by their Brothers' battle. The two female offspring yelled & begged their big Brothers to stop, when all four of the offspring were startled by a loud hiss. Mungojerrie & Joshua stopped their fighting & looked with horror they & their little Sisters saw a Giant Red Anaconda slithered toward them. Mungojerrie hissed at the large Snake.

"Teazer, get out of here!" He warned his little Sister, but Rumpelteazer did not move.

"No! I'm not leaving you here, Jerrie!" She hissed at the Giant Red Anaconda Joshua & Sammy both backed away from the Snake in horror. The two Wild Wolf Pups turned & dashed away, leaving the two Jellicle Kittens to fight a creature they had never seen before – & because of that it did not take long for something to go wrong. Both of the Wild Wolf Pups heard the Kittens' yowl with horror. Afraid of the worse Sammy continued to dash away from the scene; but something made Joshua stop & turn around. Although the Jellicle Cats, & their Kittens, were his enemies, Joshua could not help but to think about what his Grandfather had told him once.

Joshua & his Grandfather – a Saint Bernard named Bernard – were sitting & talking together in their backyard. Joshua had asked him if he had ever seen a Jellicle Cat before.

"No, I have not, Grandson. But if I did, I would not intend to fight them."

"Really! Why not?"

"Because, I do not want to start a fight with my Brother or my Sister."

"But the Jellicle Cats are evil, Grandpa."

"Do you truly believe this, Grandson? Even if your Parents say this, do youtruly know that the Jellicle Cats are evil creatures?"

"But shouldn't I listen to my Parents, Grandpa?"

"Yes you should always listen to your Parents. But now, listen to me; every single creature on this earth is our Brother & our Sister. We must love one another, care for one another. Not hate one another because we are different."

"I don't understand, Grandpa."

"You will some day, Grandson."

With the mere thought of both Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer in danger, Joshua dashed back to the scene. Once Sammy realized that her big Brother was not behind her she quickly dashed back to the scene as well. Both Wolf Pups were horrified when they saw the two Tiger-striped Jellicle Kittens lying lifeless on the Forest floor. Angry at the Giant Red Anaconda Joshua began to bark as loud as he could. The giant Snake glared at Joshua & slowly slithered toward him & Sammy. Sammy quickly dashed to Mungojerrie, licking his face to wake him. Mungojerrie slowly regained his consciousness.

"What happened?"

"Hurry, we have to get & your Sister out of here."

"My Sister! Where is she!" Mungojerrie quickly stood on his feet & looked around the Forest floor. Once he & Sammy saw their siblings, one barking & the other hissing at the Giant Red Anaconda, they both joined in. The Jellicle Kittens pounced, & the Wild Wolf Pups jumped onto the giant Snake's head. The four offspring bit & scratched the Anaconda's face & head. The Giant Red Anaconda soon realized that it was outnumbered; it gave up quickly, shaking all four offspring off of its head & slithering away as fast as it could. The Wild Wolf Pups barked, & the Jellicle Kittens hissed until the giant Snake was out of their sight. Once the Snake was gone the four offspring gave each other puzzled glances.

"You two came back?" Mungojerrie asked.

"Why?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"I, I had to come back." Joshua explained what his Grandfather had told him about helping other creatures, including his enemy. The Jellicle Kittens were confused, & so was Sammy. "I don't know how else to explain it. I just couldn't let that Snake eat you two up."

"So, does this make us your friends?" Sammy asked. Joshua looked at Rumpelteazer & smiled.

"You stood by my side when that creature was hissing at me. And you helped Teazer me beat it up; I guess this does make us friends." Mungojerrie said with a wide smile. The four offspring smiled at one another, then they started to giggle. Mungojerrie tapped his little Sister's shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" He shouted as he dashed away from his Rumpelteazer & his Wild Wolf Pup friends.

"No fair!" Rumpelteazer shouted. Then she turned to her Wolf Pup friends & smiled.

"You can't catch me!" Joshua shouted as he dashed away from Rumpelteazer. Rumpelteazer chased Joshua around, making Sammy laugh until Rumpelteazer had tagged her.

"Now you're it!" She shouted.

"Not for long!" Sammy shouted as she chased her brother & Jellicle Kitten friends.

While the four offspring were playing together, Victoria was lying in front of a tall tree trunk deep in the Forest. In front of the tree trunk Victoria felt cool, shaded from the hot sun. She cleaned herself by spreading her tiny pink tongue across all of the parts of her little furry white body. While Victoria was cleaning herself Kyle was exploring his homeland trees. He loved to look up at the green tree leaves, with his eyes & mouth wide open & in awe at how tall they were. It didn't take him long to find Victoria – (with her bright pure white fur) – right in front of a dark tan tree trunk. Curiously Kyle approached Victoria, sniffing the air & wagging his tail. Soon Victoria could smell that another creature was approaching her. She stopped cleaning herself & sniffed the air. Then she turned & saw Kyle walking toward her. Victoria & Kyle both could see that they were about the same size, & they were the same color – pure white. The two offspring slowly approached one another until they were close enough to touch noses. Startled, Victoria's back hairs stood up. She backed away from Kyle.

"Your nose is cold, & wet." Victoria said as she shivered.

"Your nose is very small." Kyle said shyly. "What are you?"

"I'm," Victoria paused & started to think about answering Kyle's question.

"Should I tell him what I am? What is he? He could be a, a Wild Dog!"Victoria thought. She slowly backed further & further away from Kyle.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked as he slowly walked toward Victoria, sniffing & wagging his tail.

"I, I have to go, now." Victoria turned & dashed away from Kyle.

"Wait!" Kyle called to the Jellicle Feline Kitten, dashing behind her. Victoria dashed as fast as she could with the Boy Wild Wolf Pup close behind her. Soon Kyle had noticed a big gap ahead of Victoria. "Slow down!" He shouted, but Victoria did not stop dashing. "Please! You're going to fall!"

"Fall?" Victoria looked back; still dashing away from Kyle she had no idea how close to the gap ahead of her until it was too late. Victoria fell down the long gap, right onto the hard dirt below. Kyle dashed to edge of the gap as fast as he could. Once he was there he was afraid to look down; but he summoned to courage to do it for the Jellicle Feline Kitten.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Victoria struggled to stand up. The burning pain in her chest was so intense that it made her cry. "Don't cry, I'm going to help you, ok!" Kyle shouted.

"How can I get her back up here?"Kyle looked for a long stick or a strong vine to help get Victoria from the short cliff & onto higher ground.

Once Kyle had found the perfect green vine he yanked it off of the tree & dashed back to the edge of the short cliff. Victoria slowly sat up & turned to find the green vine coming toward the Forest floor. At first she was horrified, thinking the vine was a snake. Then she looked up & saw Kyle holding it the vine in his mouth.

"Climb up the vine." Kyle said with the end of it in his mouth. Victoria crept toward the green vine, unleashed her little white claws & climbed up the vine & onto the short cliff. Once she was on higher ground, Victoria shyly thanked Kyle for rescuing her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't dash fast enough, or you wouldn't have fallen down there." Kyle said bashfully.

"It's ok; I'm out of there now."

"But I'm so slow. If I wasn't so slow I could have stopped you from dashing too far."

"But I'm safe now."

"I know, but…"

"It's ok, really. Thank you." Victoria and Kyle shyly smiled at one another.

"What's your name?"

"Victoria."

"That's a pretty name." Victoria giggled.

"Thank you." She said with a shy smile. "What's your name?"

"Kyle."

"Kyle, that's a cute name."

Kyle burst into laughter, Victoria laughed with him. Then the Jellicle Kitten asked Kyle a brave question.

"Are you, a Wild Dog?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, you had asked me what I was before & I was afraid to tell you. But since you had rescued me, I think I can tell what I am. Do you promise not to dash away from me when I say what I am?"

"I promise. What kind of creature are you?"

"I'm a Kitten."

"A Kitten?"

"You know, a Jellicle Cat."

"Jellicle Cat?"

Kyle, (like Electra), was a very slow learner. Although he was told millions of times what a Kitten was by his Pack, (because he asked the elders of his Pack millions of times), Kyle would always forget what the answer was. Victoria blushed, putting her head down & shaking it.

"Are you what a Jellicle Cat looks like?"

"Well, I am the only Jellicle Cat of my Pride that is pure white. Many of my family have many different colors on their fur. Like my Sister, Electra…" Victoria trailed off, remembering that her big Sister was not with her.

"What's the matter, Victoria?"

"My Sister, she's missing!"

"Who is your Sister?"

"Well, actually both of my Sisters are missing, & my Brothers. I had tried to catch up with my big Brother & Sister, but I slowed down. Then I lost my other big Sister, & I am still looking for one of my big Brothers." Victoria started to sob; Kyle placed his right front paw on her shoulder.

"Don't cry. I lost my big Brothers & Sisters, too. I'll help you find your Sister, first."

"But you need to find your Brothers & Sisters, too." Victoria worried.

"We could find them together." Kyle happily suggested.

"Ok."

Kyle & Victoria searched for their siblings together. While the two offspring searched for their siblings, Electra was sitting in front another tree trunk. Electra was crying & sobbing, trembling with fear for herself & her missing siblings.

"I'll never find them," she sobbed. Electra cried aloud, loud enough for Kelly's sensitive ears to hear from a distance.

"That almost sounds like Kyle, but it can't be."He thought as he followed his ears to Electra's crying. Soon he could tell that the crying was not coming from his baby Brother. "Who is that crying so loudly?"

Kelly stopped to sniff the air; the scent was close, & it was not that of a Wolf Pup. Kelly continued to curiously follow his nose & ears, soon finding the purple Jellicle Feline Kitten sitting in front of a Forest tree trunk. Electra continued to sob until she could smell Kelly's scent, coming closer & closer to her. She lifted her head & shyly looked at the Boy Wolf Pup.

"Hi," Kelly said with a smile, wagging his little tail. Electra did not say a word. She rubbed her eyes with her front paws & put her head down. Kelly slowly approached Electra, placing his left paw on her back gently rubbing it. "Why are you crying?" He asked. Electra sniffed a few times, continuing to wipe her eyes. Kelly patiently waited for shy & freighted the Jellicle Kitten to speak. Too shy to look at Kelly, Electra looked at the Forest floor speaking slowly & shyly to him.

"I'm lost. I can't find my Brothers & Sisters. And if I don't find my Brothers & Sisters I'll be in big trouble & lost forever. And they could be in big trouble & lost forever, too…" Electra began to cry even louder, making Kelly feel as if he had only made the Feline Kitten feel worse. Kelly continued to gently rub Electra's back & speak softly to, & patiently, with her.

"I'll help you find your Brothers & Sisters."

"You will?" Electra asked shyly. Kelly smiled at his new Kitten friend.

"Of course, but we have to calm down first, ok?"

"Ok." Electra nodded, & slowly she stopped her crying. "My nose is runny." She said, blushing as she put her front paws in front of her nose.

"Wait right here."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get a leaf for your nose."

"A leaf? What's a leaf?"

"I'll show you." Kelly walked to a small bush with large droopy leaves hanging on it. He pulled off one of the leaves and gave it to Electra. Electra took the large green leaf with her paws & gave Kelly a puzzled look.

"What do I do with it?"

"You blow your nose with it."

"Blow my nose?"

"Yes."

"Mommy & Daddy always wipe my nose with their paws."

"My Mommy & Daddy used to do that, too. But after a while I thought it was gross, & I knew they always thought it was gross, too. I decided to use leaves like the one you're holding now to blow my own nose. Actually, it was an accident that helped me teach myself how to blow my nose." Kelly explained to Electra how sneezing had helped him to teach himself how to blow his nose. Then he explained to his Jellicle Kitten how to blow her nose. Electra blew her nose a few times into the big green leaf.

"This is really gross!" She shouted, Kelly laughed.

"Unfortunately I don't know how to make blowing noses any less gross than wiping runny noses with paws," Kelly then taught Electra how to wipe her nose. Once she was done Kelly had his Kitten friend place the leaf on the Forest floor. Then walking a few inches away from her Kelly started to dig.

"What are you doing?" Electra asked, curiously walking towards Kelly.

"I'm digging a hole. I can't leave a leaf with nose juice on it on the Forest floor. It would be pretty disgusting."

"Nose juice?" Electra laughed as she continued to walk towards Kelly. Suddenly a small patch of dirt was flung into her face. Electra let out a small yowl; Kelly jumped up into the air landing on the other side of his hole.

"What happened?"

"My eye," Electra cried as she rubbed her left eye with her right paw.

"Let me see, did I get dirt into it?"

"Something went into my eye."

"I better take you to a nearby pond."

"I don't like it when water is put into my eyes." Electra sobbed.

"I promise to be careful, ok?"

"What about the leaf?"

"We'll worry about it later. Let's take care of your eye first."

"Ok." Electra trusted Kelly to do what he could to help her take care of her injured eye. Kelly walked Electra to a nearby pond. There he took one of the tall, soft brown cattail plants, tore it apart & molded the soft insides together form a small sponge. Kelly dipped the sponge onto the surface of the pond water until the tip was soaked. Then he walked to Electra with the sponge in his left paw.

"I'm going to dab this around your eye." he explained.

"Dab!" Electra started to panic.

"I'm going to pat this sponge around your eye gently, & then I'm going to rub it a little. I'll be cleaning the dirt around your eye first, then try & get the dirt inside of it out. I need you to take your paw off of your eye, ok?" Trusting her intelligent Wolf Pup friend Electra took her paw off of her eye & let Kelly dab around it with the cattail sponge. Then he gently and slowly rubbed the sponge until all of the dirt came out of Electra's right eye. "Do you fell better, now?"

"Much better. My eye doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good."

"Thank you." Electra said shyly.

"No problem. Oh boy!"

"What's wrong?"

"All this time & I never introduced myself. My name is Kelly."

"My name is Electra. Are you a Cat?"

"No. I'm a…" Kelly trailed off, wondering if it was a good idea to tell Electra what he was.

"Well, she already gave away what she is."He thought to himself.

Kelly took a deep breath,

"I'm a Wolf."

"What's a Wolf?"

"I'm a, a Wild Dog." Kelly said nervously, Electra was shocked & terrified. She started to back away from Kelly with her eyes & mouth wide open. "Wait! Don't go!" Kelly cried.

"My Mommy & Daddy said that Wild Dogs are, they're bad!"

"My Mommy & Daddy said that Jellicle Cats are bad. But you're not a bad Jellicle Cat."

"You're not bad Wolf, either. Are you my friend?"

"I'll be your friend. Are you my friend?"

"If you'll be my friend."

"Sounds fair."

"So, you are my friend?"

"Of course,"

"Yeah!" Electra cheered. Both offspring giggled together; then Electra started to tickle Kelly's tummy. The Wild Wolf Pup squealed with laughter.

"Stop that! That tickles!" He laughed, Electra continued to laugh & tickle Kelly until his little furry pure white face turned red. Just as Electra took her front paws off of his tummy Kelly placed his under her tiny purple & black striped tummy. Electra squealed even louder than Kelly, helplessly giggling as Kelly continued to tickle her until her little furry peach face turned red.

While the Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups were playing together, their "watchful" Uncles soon realized that they were missing from their front yards. The Jellicle Cats Pride & the Wild Dog Pack began to panic. Rum Tum Tugger tired to explain his laziness when looking after the Kittens, but the Jellicle adults did not except it – especially not his Sister-in-Law, Demeter.

"You lost the Kittens?" She screeched.

"I didn't mean it! Honestly!"

While Macavity & Munkustrap tried to calm the Pride down, Coricopat & Tantomile had a telepathic conversation with one another about how they were going to gather the Kittens & bring them back home.

"Cori, we must take this into our own paws. We must gather the Kittens & bring them back home."

"Hopefully we will do this before the others meet up with those Wild Dogs & start a pointless battle with them. What about the Wild Dog offspring?"

"Lets let them live for now, at least that shouldn't start too much of a commotion. We must be swift & quick in gathering the Kittens, only using our fighting energy when needed."

"Agreed."

The Mystical Twins quietly and secretly left their cave home, passed their homeland safety zone, dashed across the Hunting Grounds & into Dogwood Forest. Once they were in the forest the Mystical Twins began their search for the Jellicle Nieces & Nephews. Immediately the Jellicle Twins split up in search of the Kittens; the first pair of Kittens that Tantomile had found was her oldest Niece & Nephew. The two Tiger-striped Kittens, as well as their Wolf Pup friends, were completely oblivious that Tantomile was nearby. The four offspring were too busy having fun in the pond. Tantomile waited for the right moment; she leapt from the bushes, dashed into the water, grabbed Rumpelteazer first then dashed right back behind the bushes. Tantomile was so fast that neither Mungojerrie, Sammy nor Joshua saw or heard her. Rumpelteazer's little heart was pounding hard & fast, she was too horrified to cry for help. Then she heard her Aunt Tantomile purr.

"Aunty Tanto?"

"It's me, dear. Stay right here, I'll be back." Tantomile went after her Nephew next. Tantomile leapt from the bushes again, dashed toward Mungojerrie & grabbed him off the Forest floor. At that moment both Wild Wolf Pups saw the adult Jellicle Feline.

"Hey! Put our friend down!" Joshua shouted. Tantomile quickly dashed behind the bushes. She placed Mungojerrie on the Forest floor, right next to Rumpelteazer.

"I want you two to stay right here."

"Aunty Tanto, don't hurt them." Rumpelteazer begged.

"They're our friends. Please, don't hurt them." Mungojerrie pleaded.

Not even Tantomile could predict her little Niece & Nephew would say such things. Both she & Coricopat knew that their Nieces & Nephews were around the offspring of their enemy, but they had no idea that the Kittens and the Pups were becoming friends. At that point Tantomile knew she had & Coricopat had to act quickly.

"Hey, Jerrie! Teazer!" Joshua called as he slowly approached the bushes.

"Are you still back there?" Sammy asked as she followed behind her Brother.

Tantomile ordered Mungojerrie to get on her back, & she picked up Rumpelteazer as she dashed away from the bushes. Hearing her pounding paws, & Mungojerrie shout his good-byes, the Wild Wolf Pups dashed between the bushes.

"Hey! Put them down!" Joshua ordered as he dashed after Tantomile & his Jellicle Kitten friends. Sammy followed after him, just as determined to catch up with the adult Jellicle Feline – but it was no use, Tantomile was long out of their sight. Mean while, Electra & Kelly were still tickling one another; when their fun & laughter was interrupted by a long, loud hiss. Coricopat was standing right in front of Kelly, bearing his long, sharp, bright yellow teeth at the Boy Wolf Pup. Electra bravely dashed in front of Kelly.

"Don't hurt him, Uncle Cori!" She pleaded. "Kelly's my friend. He helped me…" Coricopat quickly picked up his Niece & started to dash away from her Pup friend.

"Bye, Kelly! I'm going home, now. Good bye!"

Kelly was frozen with fear, to afraid say good bye, or to move. Coricopat quickly caught up with Tantomile, he placed Electra on his Mate's back & quickly dashed back for his other Niece & Nephew. Once he found Victoria he quickly snatched her away from her game of tag with Kyle.

"I have to go home, now. Bye, Kyle!" Victoria quickly said as her Uncle Coricopat dashed away from her Pup friend. Kyle started to whine & cry.

"Wait! Don't go! Come back!" He begged as he tried to catch up with the adult Jellicle Tom. Coricopat dashed all the way back the Hunting Grounds. From there he started to walk back to the Jellicle Lands when Tantomile approached him. She took Victoria, dashing her back to her cave home while Coricopat dashed back into Dogwood Forest in search of Mistoffelees.

The black & white Jellicle Kitten was playing tag with his Wolf Pup friend on the Hunting Grounds. Soon the two offspring heard a loud roar.

"What was that!" Jacquie asked, swiveling her ears with curiosity.

"That was my Daddy. I have to go…"

Suddenly Mistoffelees & Jacquie were startled by another loud roar, a roar that was very close.

"I think I better go home, now." Jacquie said sadly & with fear. Suddenly Jacquie saw a big, bright red & yellow cat-like figure dashing toward her. Demeter stopped & hissed at the sight of Jacquie. Jacquie backed away, folding her ears back & staring wide-eyed at the adult Jellicle Feline.

"Mommy, she won't me she's my friend…" Suddenly Mistoffelees was lifted off of the Hunting Ground dirt. Demeter turned & started to dash away from Jacquie.

"Hey, where are you going with my friend!" She demanded as she dashed after Demeter.

"I'm going home, now! Bye friend!" Mistoffelees shouted, but Jacquie could barely hear her Jellicle Kitten friend. Jacquie bravely dashed after her Jellicle Kitten friend, & his (fully grown) Mother. Jacquie had no one else on her mind except for Mistoffelees, & nothing else on her mind but making sure that he was safe – something that Mistoffelees could only hope for her. Suddenly, another adult Jellicle dashed right in front of Jacquie. The Girl Wild Wolf Pup came face-to-face with the Jellicle Pride Leader, Macavity. Although Macavity was a hideous sight himself Jacquie was not afraid of him. The Pride Leader hissed at the little Girl Wolf Pup; Jacquie did not budge, the only creature on her mind was her Jellicle Tom friend.

"Where is my friend!" Jacquie demanded. Macavity did not answer; he just gave a silent evil grin as he swung his front right paw at Jacquie. Jacquie ducked, then bit his left paw as fast & hard as she could. The tiny pinch of her tiny sharp teeth made Macavity yowl with pain & disgust.

"You little mutt, you're going to pay for that!" He roared as he chased madly after Jacquie. Jacquie dashed away from the adult Jellicle Tom, yelping & howling for help across the Hunting Grounds. Macavity snapped at the Wolf Pup's heels; many times Jacquie was tripped up, but she did not stumble. Then Macavity lifted his right front paw, quickly unleashing his overgrown claws, digging into Jacquie's right hind side. Jacquie let out a loud yelp & started to cry. Macavity laughed & gave Jacquie an evil grin. "Prepare to die, mutt offspring!" He shouted. Jacquie was motionless; she watched as Macavity opened his jaws as wide as he could, bearing his long, sharp, bright yellow teeth. Macavity slowly put his open mouth down towards Jacquie's tiny head. Just as the Girl Wolf Pup was inches away from death, when the Jellicle Tom was startled by a loud bark. Before he could even close his mouth Macavity was head butted by a male adult Wild Dog. The force of the head butt sent Macavity jumping feet into the air, & back from Jacquie. Macavity fell flat on his face and chest. Jacquie dashed to her Father's side.

"Daddy!" She happily shouted as she hugged Alpha. Alpha tired to push Jacquie back with his front paws.

"Dash home now, go!" He ordered, but Jacquie was too afraid to let her Father go. Soon Beta came dashing to Alpha's side. "Beta, take Jacquie home." He said quickly as he saw Macavity struggling to stand. Beta quickly took Jacquie off of her Father's leg & dashed out of Hunting Grounds. Jacquie screamed for her Father to come with her & her Mother, but Alpha stayed behind his family. Alpha turned & waited anxiously as Macavity continued his struggle to stand. Alpha readied himself to fight, when it occurred to him that the Jellicle Tom was in too much pain to fight. What Alpha did not realize, as he was dashing back to his cave, was that in badly injuring Macavity he had also badly injured himself.

Once he was on all four of his paws Macavity looked up, glaring in the direction where Alpha was standing only to find him gone.

"He got away!" Macavity screamed to himself.

"I can't believe I let that mutt get away!" He screamed, spouting tiny drops of blood from the roof of his mouth; & from the jagged, bloody spot where there was a missing front tooth. And while Alpha, still oblivious of his bad injury, was able to dash to his cave Macavity had to slowly walk back to his homeland. Although he was in much pain Macavity held his head high as he walked toward his homeland. He started to laugh aloud, ignoring his mouth pain.

"You may have gotten away this time, you mutts, but next time I will kill you!"

Less than half way to his homeland Macavity was met by five of his Pride's Family (or Pride) Protectors.

"Sire!" Tumblebrutus & Jonathan called as they approached their Pride Leader.

"I'm fine everyone. Thank you for coming to my aid."

"Let's get you home." Said Carbucketty – a butter-yellow & white striped Jellicle Tom with shaggy & spiky fur. The Pride Protectors gathered around their Pride Leader, assisting him back to their Jellicle homeland.

The Jellicle Cat cave was nosier than usual. The Jellicle Kittens were crying – (mostly because their Brother Mistoffelees was crying aloud), their Parents were doing the best they could to comfort them, & the rest of the adult Pride members were growling & snarling with anger. Soon Macavity entered the cave; all of the adult Jellicles – with the exception of Munkustrap & Demeter – dashed to him. Macavity lifted his front paws to stop & silence his Pride.

As he spoke, Mistoffelees could hear his deep voice loud & clear in his room. Mistoffelees was very upset, especially at his Pride Leader for freighting away his new Wolf Pup friend. The little angry Jellicle Tom dashed out of his room, his Parents called after him but he did not stop. Mistoffelees dashed right through the crowd of adult Jellicle legs, stopping right in front of Macavity. Mistoffelees hissed as loud as he could, immediately getting the Pride Leader's attention. Macavity glared at the Tom Kitten's bright red frowning face.

"Where is Jacquie!" He demanded.

"I have no idea who you speak of…"

"Yes you do!" Mistoffelees shouted, hot tears streaming down his warm face. "Where is she! Where is my friend!"

Macavity snarled at Mistoffelees. Demeter quickly pushed her way through her family to reach her youngest Son. Macavity let out a soft hiss, warning Demeter not to touch her Son just yet. Demeter sighed, sitting closely to her Son.

"Who is Jacquie?" She asked.

"She better not be that mutt I had to chase." Hearing the mere word "mutt" made the adult Pride members' hairs stand.

"Jacquie is not a mutt," Mistoffelees said shyly.

"Then who is she, Son?" Demeter asked.

"My friend," Mistoffelees said quietly.

"She is Wild Dog, is she?" Mistoffelees was too scared to answer his Mother's question.

"Answer your Mother, Mistoffelees." Macavity ordered. Demeter felt her back hairs stand at her Pride Leader's sternness.

"Give my Son some time." She thought to herself, her eyes only on the back of Mistoffelees.

Mistoffelees took a deep breath & opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then he quickly summoned the courage to speak up.

"Jacquie is my friend. She is not a mutt, but, she is not a Cat either."

"She is not?" Macavity asked, letting a soft low-pitched hiss escape his mouth. Munkustrap stepped in front of his Pride members, watching his Mate & Son anxiously. "If Jacquie is not a Cat, then what kind of creature is she?" Macavity asked. Mistoffelees found himself too afraid to answer that question, the question that would make his whole family mad at him. He was too afraid to tell the truth, with all Jellicle eyes on him. Mistoffelees took another deep breath & told his whole Pride the truth. The whole Pride – with the exception of snarls coming from the Pride Leader – was silenced with shock. Every single Jellicle was shocked, angered, & afraid, especially Mistoffelees' Parents. Macavity was enraged.

"No Pride member of mine will befriend any mutt! Especially not my youngest members!"

Macavity took a few deep breaths to cool off his anger before asking Mistoffelees about his siblings. Mistoffelees shook his head & shrugged his tiny shoulders. Macavity looked at Munkustrap & Demeter. The two Jellicle Parents did not want to gather their Kittens for questioning, but they knew that they had to; it was a "silent order". Macavity had the Jellicle Parents walk their Kittens into his room, sitting then in a line from oldest to youngest right in front of him. Munkustrap & Demeter sat close behind their Kittens, anxiously awaiting their Pride Leader to question them.

"Did you Kittens wonder far from home?" Macavity started.

"We were only looking for our Brother, Mystro, Sire." Mungojerrie bravely answered.

"Where did you Kittens go to look for him?" Mungojerrie put his head down & spoke shyly.

"We went to the Hunting Grounds, and then," he stopped himself. The striped Tom Kitten looked into Macavity's calm, but fiery black eyes.

"Where else did you go?" Macavity asked, trying not to sound scary or angry to the Kittens. Mungojerrie took a deep breath.

"Please don't be mad, Sire. We were only looking for Mystro."

"And if we didn't go further than the Hunting Grounds we may have never found him." Rumpelteazer said. Munkustrap & Demeter were nervous. The three adult Jellicles already knew that their Kittens had wandered into Dogwood Forest; the mere thought of their offspring meeting the adults of their enemy sent chills down their spines. Macavity smiled at the Kittens, then at their Parents. Munkustrap & Demeter returned a nervous smile.

"Listen very carefully, Kittens. Family is very important,"

"We know, Sire. That's why…"

"Mungo!" Munkustrap scolded, Macavity lifted his right front paw to silence the Jellicle Father.

"Let your Son speak, Munku. Go on, Mungo."

"I was saying, that's why we were looking for Mystro. He's our Brother, & he is really important to us. And, that's why we had to go to the Forest, we just couldn't find him in the Hunting Grounds." Mungojerrie put his head down, feeling quite a bit of shame for leaving his homeland & entering the homeland of his enemy.

"We're very sorry for disobeying you, Sire." Victoria said, then she turned to her Parents. "Mommy, Daddy, we're all sorry for disobeying you, too." Munkustrap & Demeter smiled at their Kittens as they all apologized.

"You're both right. In fact, all of you Kittens were right to look for your Brother. However, it is also important that the family is safe & sticks together. Especially you Kittens, you are very young & venerable."

"Sire, what does venerable mean?" Electra asked.

"It means that you could be easily harmed, or worse." Munkustrap answered.

"Who knows what creatures may have found either of you in the Forest? We may have never seen any of you again, that's how dangerous it is." The Jellicle gasped, looking at one another, their Parents, & their Pride Leader.

"I understand, now. You don't want any of us to get hurt." Electra said.

"Or lost," Victoria added.

"That's right. Now, give me a hug." Macavity held his front legs & paws open. The Jellicle Kittens dashed to their Pride Leader, hugging him & nuzzling his large black nose. While he was receiving hugs & nose nuzzles Macavity could smell the scent of Wild Dogs on the Kittens.

The Jellicle Kittens left their Pride Leader, dashing to their Mother & following her out of his room. Munkustrap was going to follow after his Mate when Macavity had called him. Munkustrap stood in front of the Pride Leader.

"Yes, Sire?"

"Munku, we need to talk." Macavity gave the Jellicle Father a serious look. Munkustrap could see in his Pride Leader's expression that he was angry & concerned. He could tell that whatever Macavity was going to tell him was about his Kittens – the Future of the Jellicle Pride.

Alpha, Beta, & their Pups were sitting together in their room. Alpha had large pieces of green leaf patched to his forehead, where Macavity's front tooth had made a big, deep scar. The Wild Wolf Parents sat in front of their Pups, scolding them for discovering that they had played with the offspring of their enemy.

"You Pups know that the Jellicle Cats are dangerous creatures." Alpha said sternly.

"Vici wasn't dangerous." Kyle said with a smile. "She & I had fun together."

"So did me, Sammy, Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer." Joshua said.

"Mungojerrie?" Alpha said puzzled.

"Rumpelteazer?" Beta said, just as confused as her Mate at such long, strange names.

Alpha sighed, he gathered his Pups close to him & Beta. The two Wild Wolf Parents hugged & kissed their Pups, the Pups returned the hugs & kisses.

"The five of you must be careful. We do not want any of you to wonder far from home anymore, understood?

"Yes, Daddy."

"And I do not want to hear anything more about the Kittens. Understood?"

"But Daddy…" the Pups complained, only to be hushed by their Father.

"I mean it. I'm sure you Pups & those Kittens did play together & fun. But what if their Parents had come?"

"But they did, Daddy." Kyle said, (mistaking Coricopat for one of Victoria's Parents). "I'm not sure if they were Vici's Mother or her Father, but they took Vici away from me." Kyle started to sob. Sammy gave her baby Brother a hug & a kiss.

"It's ok, don't cry, Kyle." She soothed. Kyle wiped his eyes with his front paws.

"All we were doing was playing tag. Why did Vici have to leave so soon?" Kyle's older siblings gave him hugs v kisses, saying soothing words to calm him.

"Perhaps those Cats felt unsafe near my Son. What a shame! How could they traumatize him so!" Beta thought to herself.

Alpha & Beta exchanged a glance,

"It's time for your nap." Alpha & Beta wrapped their large warm bodies around their Pups. One by one four of the five Wolf Pups fell asleep. Jacquie remained awake, nervously tapping her tiny black paws on her room floor.

"What's the matter, dear?" Beta asked.

"I'm not sleepy."

"Why not?" Jacquie looked at her Father. Alpha gave Jacquie a gentle smile. Jacquie looked at the room floor, too scared to say what, & who she was thinking about. Beta nuzzled her Daughter's nose; Jacquie could feel herself ready to cry.

"Can I tell you outside, Mommy? Only you, please."

"Of course, dear." Beta stood, leaving an open gap for her daughter to walk through. Jacquie & Beta walked outside of their cave into their front yard. Beta laid her stomach on the cool green grass. Jacquie started to chase a white Butterfly when her Mother called. Jacquie dashed right in front of Beta. "What's the matter, dear?" She asked. Jacquie put her head down.

"Do you promise not to tell Daddy?"

"Ok,"

"Or anyone else?"

"I promise."

Jacquie took a deep breath, sat on the cool green front yard grass, & told her Mother about her new friend. Beta listened to her oldest Daughter; attentive to all of the details from when her Daughter met the Jellicle Kitten, to how she had "lost" him.

"I barely knew Mistoffelees, but I miss him, Mommy." Jacquie whimpered. Beta wrapped her front legs around her Daughter.

"I'm glad that you were able to have fun. I am also glad that the adult Cat did not harm you."

"Mommy, are you glad that Mistoffelees & I are friends?" Beta could not answer her Daughter's question right away; it was going to take some thought.

"I'm, I'm glad that the Kitten did not harm you, Jacquie,"

"Are you glad that he & I are friends, now?"

"Jacquie, I'm glad that you were able to play, with the Kitten, without getting hurt. Now…"

"Mommy, Mistoffelees is my friend. He'd never hurt me, Mommy, never."

"I'm sure he wouldn't hurt you,"

"At least not for now."

"Do you not like him because he is a Cat?"

"It's not that I don't like him, I fear his kind."

"You shouldn't be afraid of Mistoffelees, he's my best friend. He's as big as me, & he's very funny." Jacquie giggled, her Mother smiled. "He's really nice, & fun to be with, I wonder if I'll ever see him again." Beta sighed.

"Those evil creatures traumatized my Daughter. Not only her but their own Son. How could they be so cruel!"

Jacquie gave her Mother a hug, Beta started to clean her Daughter to calm herself.

After speaking with his Kittens – (about the dangers of Dogwood Forest & the Wild Dogs) – Munkustrap took them into the front yard to play. The Jellicle Tom happily watched his Kittens play with their Uncles, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, Carbucketty & Crackerbarrel – & their Aunts, Violet, Etcetera, Jemima & Bombalurina. It did not take long for Munkustrap to notice that only four of his Kittens were playing together.

"Where is Mistoffelees?"

Munkustrap looked around the front yard; he found his youngest Son lying by a small boulder all by himself. As Munkustrap approached his Son he could see his sad face. Mistoffelees nervously tapped his tiny front paws on the front yard ground as his Father approached him. Munkustrap laid right in front of Mistoffelees; he smiled as his Mistoffelees looked him in the eyes.

"What's the matter, Son?" Mistoffelees wiped his eyes with his tiny white paws. He looked away from his Father, staring at the dust fogging the horizon of his backyard. Munkustrap curled his large warm body around his youngest Son.

"It's not fair." Mistoffelees said.

"What's not fair, Son?" Mistoffelees sighed.

"Daddy, I miss Jacquie. She & I are good friends."

"Oh, Mystro."

"Daddy, it's true. Jacquie is different from other Wild Dogs."

"How?" Munkustrap accidentally asked, meaning to keep his thought to himself. Mistoffelees stood in front of his Father.

"Daddy, if you had a friend like Jacquie, & your Mommy took you away from her, wouldn't you be sad?"

"Mistoffelees," Munkustrap took a deep breath. "If I were taken away from a Wild Dog it was for a good reason…"

"But Jacquie isn't evil, Daddy. She's really nice. She's my friend, & I'm sure she would be your friend, too."

"Maybe." Munkustrap placed his large right paw on Mistoffelees head; rubbing it gently first, then giving his Son a nuggie. Mistoffelees laughed & playfully fought with his Father.

As the day went on the creature family Leaders took sometime to themselves to collect their own thoughts, as well as the thoughts of their offspring.

Alpha sighed heavily; although he felt some hope that his Pups would be able to play with other creatures' offspring, he still did not want his Pups anywhere near the offspring of his & every Wild Dogs' enemy. Mean while, Macavity had fears that his Jellicle Nieces & Nephews were being influenced & brainwashed by the Wild Dogs – adult & offspring alike.

"I cannot allow such terrible brainwashing to continue. Our Kittens will not commit treason, they will not stoop down to the mutts' level! Every single mutt must be killed, including their own offspring!..."

Macavity paced around his front yard, thinking up strategies, & reasonable punishments for the Kittens wandering from their homeland. Alpha decided to keep a close eye on his Pups himself; even though he was quite a busy Pack Leader. Both creature Family Leaders would make sure that their offspring would not enter their enemies' territory, nor meet the offspring or adults of their enemy anymore, & at any costs.