Chapter 7: The Naming Of Cats
Note : Sorry I was so lazy last chapter, but it was 2 in the morning and I was sleepy and wanted to go to bed! I promise this chapter will contain FULL lyrics!
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Okay, so far, this Jellicle ball was going awesomley! Wait, is that a word? Oh well, still, this was incredible! The dancing was very fun, espiecally Bombalurina sticking her butt in my face! Heaven...
And now we were all standing there-
Suddenly, Demeter hissed. I jumped a little, I was standing right next to her. What was she upset about?
I looked over a bit and-HOLY EVERLASTING CAT ON A STICK!
There was a human over there!
Crap, no one is supposed to know about the Jellicles! We're secret, and secrets are cool! (Of course, if it is a secret of Tugger it is not meant to be kept). I looked around, panicked but somehow unable to break my pose. Asparagus and Aunt Chessica had also noticed the man.
Then, Asparagus ran forward, next to Munkustrap, who also noticed the......MAN.
And, all of things, the guy decides to sing!
He sang, There's a man over there!
At that, all the Jellicles turned to look at the man, and they all gasped. We ducked to the ground. Huh, as if that is going to help this man forget what he just saw! Oh, how much of the opening number did he see?
Asparagus continued singing, With a look of surprise, as much as to say
Well now how about that?
How about what? Oh, look, Munkustrap is going to sing now.
Can I actually see with my own very eyes?
A man who has not heard of a Jellicle cat?
Huh? What was going on? Munkustrap and Asparagus looked wierd...
Suddenly, Munkustrap cocked his head to the side, and sang, or more liked, sang-asked:
What's a Jellicle cat?
Suddenly, I was overcome with a strange feeling. Like, I am here and I need to say something. And I knew that all the other cats felt this too, this incredible need to give wisdom, a feeling I have never felt before.
Then, we all sang together:
What's a Jellicle cat?
Then,
What's a Jellicle cat?
We all moved together, to the center of the clearing. I couldn't even remember if the man was there or not. We had something to say, something I had never felt or heard before. I found myself in the front, in a row with Electra, Teazer, Dem, Jemima, Etcetera, and Vicky. The normal me would be happy to be surrounded by queens, but I was different. Then, we all began to chant.
The naming of cats
Is is a difficult matter
It isn't just one of your holiday games
You may think at first
I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you a cat must have three different names
Yes, I know now. You probably don't, but as we just chanted, a cat must indeed have three names. The first-
First of all there's the name
That the family use dailey
Yeah, that. My first name is Scooterhead.
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, or James
As we said this, I sensed Alonzo filling with pride at the mention of his name. Although Alonzo was his second name, not his first name.
Such as Peter or Johnathan, George or Bill Bailey
All of them sensible everyday names
There are fancier names
If you think they sound sweeter
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter
I sensed each of them, and I even sensed pride in the cats around me who's names were not mentioned. I became wonderous-what were my Jellicle's first name? The only ones I knew where those of Tumblebrutus, Alonzo, Mom, Dad, Admetus, Teazer, and Jerrie ; Sashlyn (Tumble's owners were confused elderly people), Patches, Missy, Firecat, Ronky, Right, and Left.
All of them sensible every day names
But I tell you a cat needs a name thats particular
A name thats perculier and more dignified
Ah, yes, our second name. The name we lived by, the name we can be proud of most of all, the names our parents gave us. I was named when I jumped out of my bed when I was only two days old.
How else can he keep his tail perpendicular
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Names of this kind I can give you a quarem
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat
Such as Bombalurina or else Jellylorum
Names that never belong to more then one cat
But there's still that one thing.....At this point, we all moved apart, facing different sides of the junkyard.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over
And that is the name that you'll never guess
The name that no human research can discover
But the cat himself knows and will never confess
The third name. The name I have not even heard myself. But I know it is there. Mom and Dad have told me the story many times-one day, when your name will come to you, and it will be a name unlike any ever heard, a name for you and chosen to be yours, a name that holds your entire soul in peace. And you will never confess it or even speak it- it will remain a shadow in your mind, there and never there.
I have not learned mine yet.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation
The reason, I tell you, is always the same
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought, of his name
Suddenly my nose twitched. I sensed Victoria was not with us. Where did she go?
His ineffable, effable, effanieffable
Deep and inscrutable singular name
Suddenly, I slunk off into the shadows. I couldn't see but I could hear the chanting, the name repeating, like an echo...
Name, name, name, name, name, name...
Name....name....WHOA.
What the hell just happened?!
I was sitting in a path in the junk wall of the clearing. Beside me were an equally confused Electra and Exotica. Tumblebrutus and Alonzo sat together above us, sitting on a small tire, whispering to eachother. I looked over, and saw Dad nearby with Teazer and Jerrie, who both were bombarding him with questions.
But then I saw Admetus, staring out into the sky. I slunk over to him.
"Metus!" I cried, pawing at his leg. He looked down at me, smiling.
"Admetus, what just happened?!" I asked, confused.
He smiled again, and looked out. "The moon," he said. I looked, and gasped.
Victoria was standing alone in the junkyard. The moonlight was shining directly onto her. I could not stop staring.
Victoria always did wierd things when struck by moonlight....
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Done!