"Misto…? Mistoffelees!" came the cries from the garden. Then he heard the mother’s voice. "Children, perhaps he is on the roof again. Go check up there."
The little daughter clamored up onto the second-story patio calling, "Come down, Mistoffelees, dear! Come down and I will give you a nice bowl of cream, and perhaps even some fish paste! You’d like that, wouldn’t you?"
Back on the cozy hearth, Mistoffelees rolled his black eyes and stuck out his pink tongue in another yawn.
"Humans," he thought. "Curious, ignorant creatures. Don’t they know I can have all the cream and fish paste I want simply by walking into the kitchen? Ah, well." He adjusted his position so that he was stretched out, white stomach toward the fireplace. "Now, I must rest," he thought, "for tonight…the Jellicle Ball!"
* * * * *
The late morning sun glittered high above the junkyard, where Rumpelteazer was hunting half-heartedly for rodents and Mungojerrie watched her, blinking lazily, from the trunk of a battered old car. Rumpelteazer leaned forward, sticking her rump high in the air and twitching her tail back and forth. She sat perfectly still and wiggled her nose; she had spotted what she thought to be a rat. Mungojerrie regarded her with lazy indifference as she pounced, emitting a fearsome shriek of victory. However, her war cry dwindled to a disappointed little growl as she discovered that her "rat" was really just an old piece of rubber tangled in some of Jennyanydots’ string. She stared at the pitiful little tidbit of rubbish, then hid it quickly behind her back, giggling in effort to hide her embarrassment for her mistake. Then she tossed the sorry piece of trash over her shoulder and remarked to her counterpart, "Slim pickings today, eh ‘jerrie?"
The male cat merely grunted in response and Rumpelteazer shrugged her shoulders and turned away, continuing her mousehunt.
"I always ‘ate the day before the Jellicle Ball," she continued. "I get so jumpy and I can’t concentrate on anything. Know what I mean, Mungo?"
Silence.
"Mungojerrie?" But when she turned around, he was gone. "Probably gone off with Macavity and ‘is gang again," she thought dejectedly.
Mungojerrie just hadn’t been the same since he’d started running with that fiend. He rarely spoke to Rumpelteazer anymore, and even when he did, he never said anything meaningful. Being in that gang had changed him, and Rumpel didn’t like it. She loved him, but she strongly disapproved of his running with Macavity’s crowd. They committed horrible, heinous, unthinkable crimes: blasphemy, robberies, and even murders. Stealing food and knick-knacks from the family was one thing—in fact, tormenting the family was Rumpelteazer’s main source of entertainment—but Macavity’s kind of work was quite another thing altogether. It made Rumpelteazer extremely uneasy to know that her one true love was running around killing things. She puzzled herself over what to do about Mungojerrie. She cared deeply for him, and desperately wanted to help him… before it was too late.
* * * * *
Mungojerrie weaved expertly through the crowds of people that massed in the cobblestone streets. He darted back and forth, trying desperately to avoid being stepped on, and he had to snatch his tail from under someone’s foot more than once, but none of the humans seemed to notice him at all. He paused at the bakery window, licking his chops at the delicacies on the shelves, but he was swiftly shooed away by the plump baker and his broom. Mungojerrie scampered across the street in a moment of daring, ignoring the blaring, strident howl of car horns as he leapt onto the sidewalk on the other side. He trotted at a leisurely pace under the awnings of the storefronts until he came to a small alley beside the butcher shop, into which he turned.
The alley appeared deserted, occupied only by a malodorous dumpster surrounded by flies, but Mungojerrie knew better.
"Rowr!" he growled, announcing his arrival. Out of each shadowy hole and corner of the alley, fearsome, unkempt creatures that were scarcely recognizable as cats emerged soundlessly, baring their teeth and snarling menacingly at Mungojerrie who, despite an overwhelming urge to run, sat perfectly still and unblinking. In a matter of seconds he was surrounded by an uninviting gang of monstrous cats, but he ignored them, waiting patiently for the arrival of their leader. The ear-piercing crash of thunder in the stillness of the afternoon indicated that Macavity was on his way.
The Hidden Paw himself strode into the alley, and his silhouette cut a frightening figure against the slowly descending sun. He bounced nimbly atop the dumpster and began to speak in a raspy, guttural voice that always sent chills coursing through Mungojerrie.
"Ah, my agents of crime. I called you here to instruct you on how to successfully carry out my latest—and greatest—plan. This is it! The crime of the century! A plot of such evil and cunning only I could have thought of it.
"I’m sure you are all aware of my lifelong dream to hold all the humans in this city completely at my mercy. Well! Now that dream shall become a reality!"
Here Macavity broke into a deep, guttural chuckle that sounded more like the death cry of a small animal than a laugh.
"You see," he continued, "I have devised a way to realize my dream. One by one, we will rob each jeweler in this entire city! This, of course, will leave no one for the public to turn to… except my human! The more customers he can rake in, the more he can cheat them out of their dough by selling them glass ‘diamonds’, and the more he sticks in his pocket, the more I steal from him! You see, my pathetic, slobbering mongrels? It’s a great, glorious circle, with me in the center, pick-pocketing the idiotic humans that run mindlessly around, and around, and around! Ha, ha, ha!"
There was an excited muttering going through Macavity’s audience, accompanied by an occasional evil-sounding cackle. But there was immediate silence when Macavity held up his paw, indicating he was about to speak again.
"You may all be wondering just how I am going to go about this little scheme. Well, I’ll tell you. I will need a place to hide all the jewels I steal… a safe, secure place no one would ever think to look. I’ve decided to bury them here"—he gestured to the earthen ground below the dumpster—"deep into the dirt. I will have a chamber built deep underground, and that is where I will store the jewels. "Who is going to do the work, you ask? Not you. You can stop looking so worried, you worthless maggots. No, with you idiots doing the job, it would take years. I need young, able-bodied beasts. Yes, I have better plans for that part."
Macavity closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose, which was heavily scarred and had a large chunk missing from the top. Then he opened his mouth, and for a moment it looked as though he were going to continue, but instead he gave a great yawn and smacked his jaws lazily. There was a heavy feeling of anticipation in the air that made the atmosphere nearly unbreathable, as every cat present was desperately curious to see what terrible, horrible thing Macavity the Mystery Cat had thought up this time. Finally, the master villain spoke.
"I have decided that for my work slaves I will take…the precious little Jellicle kittens!"
A collective gasp went through the crowd and Macavity continued, "We will kidnap them tonight, at their Jellicle Ball!" His lip curled up as he spoke those words, so that his teeth were bared and his voice sounded like an evil snarl, dripping with such passionate hatred that every cat present was glad he himself was not a Jellicle kitten. All of Macavity’s henchmen guffawed and chortled at their leader’s ingenious plan. But Mungojerrie sat still and silent, eyes wide and mouth dropped open, speechless in his horror.
"You see," began Macavity again as the noise died down, "this plan works as double satisfaction, so to speak. I get a hiding spot for all those jewels, and at the same time, I get revenge on those stupid, bloody Jellicles for banishing me from their tribe, all those years ago. Now their children will pay for their foolish mistake!"
There followed a chorus of cheering from Macavity’s agents, and they broke into rowdy celebration. But all of a sudden, Mungojerrie’s rage overcame him; he forgot himself and raised his voice above all others.
"Macavity! You can’t do this! It’s not right! It’s—" Suddenly he realized what he had done and stopped himself, but it was too late. All the other cats had fallen silent, and the fiery hot rage in Macavity’s eyes sent them scampering to hid behind boxes and garbage cans, peering out of the darkness at the unfortunate Mungojerrie, who sat alone in the center of the alley, quivering with fear. "How DARE you tell me what to do! You insolent little fool!" bellowed Macavity in unspeakable rage. "I-I-I’m s-s-sorry, sir," whimpered Mungojerrie in weak effort to redeem himself. "Your ‘ighness, your g-greatness, your evilness, your—"
"SHUT UP!" roared the furious master of crime so loudly that Mungojerrie squeezed his eyes shut tight, and began trembling so violently that one could hear his teeth chattering. But Macavity was not finished yet.
"You are only still in the initiation stage! You’re not even—" Here Macavity broke off and a knowing grin grew on his face. Mungojerrie opened one eye, dreading what he would hear next.
"Yes! Of course!" Macavity screeched. "THIS will be your initiation. I will put you in charge of this operation! Tonight, at the Jellicle Ball, you will take four of my agents and kidnap those kittens yourself!"
Mungojerrie’s eyes flew open wide and he opened his mouth, but Macavity held up his paw for silence. "It is the only way you can redeem yourself after this outrage. If you choose not to accept this mission, I will be forced to terminate your life.." Macavity held up a gnarled claw and made a motion across his neck to illustrate what he would do to Mungojerrie. "Of course, the decision is yours."
Mungojerrie’s lips trembled for a moment, the he exhaled quickly, slumping his shoulders and hanging his head, feeling very helpless and defeated.
"Good boy!" hissed Macavity, as if he could read his mind. "Don’t forget… tonight, at the Jellicle Ball!"
* * * * *
The round Jellicle Moon hung high above the junkyard, glowing through the velvety nighttime blackness like an all-seeing eye, illuminated in its knowledge of the horrible events that were to take place there that night. Within moments, the first pair of Jellicle eyes appeared, glowing in the moonlight. They blinked a few times, and then their owner crawled stealthily out into the open, revealing his identity. It was Munkustrap. The gray tabby glanced around. Although it looked as though he was the first to arrive, he knew that was not necessarily true. Jellicle Cats were shy, and needed a bit of encouraging before they would show themselves. So Munkustrap cleared his throat and sang in a loud, clear voice:
Jellicle Cats come out tonight Jellicle Cats come one, come all The Jellicle Moon is shining bright Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.
One by one (with the exception of Coricopat and Tantomile, who entered at exactly the same time) the Jellicles began to arrive and eventually converse together as they did at every Jellicle Ball.
But one duo seemed to be half-missing. Rumpelteazer appeared at the Jellicle Ball alone, with a forlorn look on her face. Every cat turned to stare at the place where she had entered waiting for Mungojerrie to follow closely behind. But Rumpelteazer quickly dispelled these thoughts by announcing loud and clear, " ‘e’s not ‘ere. I ‘aven’t seen ‘im all day."
At this, the Jellicles all turned back to what they were doing before Rumpelteazer’s entrance. They knew when to stop pushing a point.
Bombalurina and Demeter decided to chat with Rumpelteazer, to try to get her mind off her obvious worry for Mungojerrie. For about half an hour, the Jellicle Ball went just about the way it did every year, while the cats were waiting for the much-anticipated arrival of Old Deuteronomy. But suddenly, the excited, ear-piercing squeal of the kitten Etcetera broke into the night, and all the elder cats rolled their eyes, while the younger ones’ eyes took on a starry expression. They all knew very well who would soon arrive.
Their presumptions were confirmed when the Rum Tum Tugger entered, meowing haughtily, and flirting with every kitten that so much as looked at him. He winked at Victoria, rubbed up against Electra, and stroked Sillabub’s chin. Etcetera bounced tirelessly around him, nuzzling him and purring wildly. But the Rum Tum Tugger ignored her; he found her constant amorous overtures rather annoying. But her purring just got louder and more amorous. Tugger could no longer ignore her. He was about to shoo her away when and idea came to him. He turned to the lovestruck kitten suddenly, and he nuzzled her, licking her face and purring seductively, just to get a rise out of her. Then he sauntered away, chuckling to himself, and not even bothering to look back to see how his trick had gone over.
In truth, his little stunt had worked so well that poor Etcetera fainted out cold, and fell into Plato’s waiting arms. Sillabub helped Plato to carry the kitten into a corner where they splashed water on her face in attempt to revive her. Rumpelteazer seemed to find it all very amusing, and she snickered loudly and imitated Etcetera’s starry-eyed expression, and for a moment she seemed like her old playful, happy self again. But Munkustrap swatted her ear and shook his head at her, and shot a disapproving look at the Rum Tum Tugger that seemed to say, Must you cause trouble at every Jellicle Ball?
But Tugger, as usual, paid no heed to Munkustrap’s father-like scathing, and the handsome young tom strutted through the junkyard, causing chaos in each circle of young females.
Bombalurina, Demeter, and Rumpelteazer had retreated to a quiet corner to await the arrival of Old Deuteronomy in peace. They sat chatting quietly and watched the other cats exercising their terpsichorean powers, dancing and singing to the Jellicle Moon. Suddenly, the Rum Tum Tugger caught sight of Rumpelteazer and swaggered over to talk with her.
"Hiya, girls," he cooed with such suavity that Bombalurina purred inside. But he was looking straight at Rumpelteazer. Tugger moved forward to nuzzle Rumpelteazer, but just when he got close enough to touch her, she stuck her chin in the air and dashed away, into the shadows. The Rum Tum Tugger squeezed his eyes shut tight; he did not like being rejected.
"Tugger…" Bombalurina whispered.
"Oh… why does she resist me?" he growled, settling into a pouty, flustered anger.
"Because she’s still dead gone on Mungojerrie," explained Bombalurina, still gazing after the spot where Rumpelteazer had scampered away.
"But why?!" Tugger exploded. "What’s so great about that wimpy housecat anyway? I’m young, handsome, and energetic… what’s he got that I haven’t got?"
Demeter couldn’t resist. "Rumpelteazer," she pointed out, very unhelpfully. The Rum Tum Tugger snarled angrily at her, baring his teeth and puffing out his fur. But Bombalurina calmed him, nuzzling him in a comforting, almost mother-like way.
"A girl's gotta follow her heart, Tugger," she declared gently. But Tugger had already cuddled into her lap and was dozing off quickly.
"Blah, blah, blah," he muttered in a drowsy voice that was muffled by Bombalurina's fur. "You and your dumb morals…"
He drifted off into a light, fitful sleep, with Bombalurina stroking his face lovingly and Demeter blinking placidly in the moonlight. The hours passed slowly, with several false alarms for Old Deuteronomy's arrival. But they all knew he would come eventually, so they were patient. It was nearing the hour just before dawn when the kittens who had never before been to a Jellicle Ball began to get restless, so Munkustrap resolved to entertain them with a bit of his famous storytelling. He gathered them all around and proceeded to describe to them animatedly the story of Grizabella the Glamor Cat, who was chosen to visit the Heavyside Layer at last year's Jellicle Ball. He was just singing Up, up, up, past the Russell Hotel when a loud clap of thunder accompanied by deep, menacing laughter echoed throughout the junkyard.
Suddenly, the lights went out and several dark, shadowy shapes surrounded the frightened group of kittens. Their agonized squealing could be heard fading into the distance as Macavity's henchmen dragged them away. Rumpelteazer's young eyes were the first to adjust to the darkness, and when she could finally see, she found herself face to face with the kitten thief. She gasped in disbelief when she recognized the familiar eyes and features.
"Mungojerrie?!" yelped Rumpelteazer. He stared into her pleading eyes with a despairing look that said he wanted to say he was sorry. For a moment, it looked as though he was going to speak, but a loud crash diverted Rumpel's attention for a split-second, and he utilized the opportunity to make his escape.
There was absolute chaos for a number of minutes, until Mistoffelees mustered up the magic to turn the lights back on. But when he did, the kittens were gone! Only one word was spoken in the tormenting silence that followed, and each voice echoed it in unison:
"Macavity!"