Alley Cats
In the depths of a dark alley behind a pizza joint in Brooklyn lived two cats. Kitty the cat was a ferocious feline with a fluffy orange coat who would never be fit for living in captivity. Tabby was a cat who was mostly gray with dark stripes and a nasty temper. Together they ruled the dumpster behind the pizzeria. Every once in a while humans and some other rodents would make there way to the back alley.
On a particularly regular Tuesday a couple of mice were scurrying towards the dumpster. Tabby jumped right down in front of them.
"This is our alley" Tabby exclaimed "Unless you want to be the appetizer for our next meal I suggest you leave. "
The Rats chuckled and started prancing towards a hole in the dumpster. They believed they Tabby was much too slow to catch them. Tabby could not understand what was so funny. He thought he made a very threatening predator. He then decided his best choice was to stand by his word and go after the rats. He started chasing them and was about to lock his jaws around the second rats when he jaws were pierced by the metal instead.
Kitty continued to live in the alley and one day some children stumbled upon her. They had greased stained cheeks from the pizza they consumed and the siblings had fire red hair to match Kitty's own fur.
"A kitty!" cried the girl "I have been asking my mother for a my very own kitty for ages."
The children made their way over to Kitty and she let out a loud "Prrrrrr."
The children reached out their hands to pet her and where met by a hard bite.
"Ouch!" the girl screeched and she ran back into the pizza joint to find her mother.
That will be the last time those rascals mess with me thought Kitty.
Author's Note and Bibliography
I modeled my story after "Two Turtle Jatakas" by Ellen Babbitt link. Both stories future an animal that is either saved or meets their death because of their mouth.
Hi Maddie! I liked this retelling of the two turtles Jataka. The way that you merged the two seperate tales into one had me confused for just a moment and then I understood and loved that you did them together. I enjoyed your writing style quite a bit and I felt it was well rounded. The only thing I can think of is to do a read through but other than that I enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteHey Maddie! I think your changes to the original are unique - I would never think about alley cats behind a pizza shop, but I could definitely see a cartoon being made about this concept. However, I was confused by Tabby having her mouth "pierced by the metal." Was the dumpster sharp? Did Tabby die just because of a mouth injury? I think some more explanation in the story about this could be helpful!
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI loved how creative you were in retelling the story of the turtles! I would never have thought of cats. It just goes to show how a bad temper can hurt the person themselves more than the enemy. I would suggest giving a bit of an explanation on the end part because it seemed like the cats main problem was the rats and not the children. Otherwise, good job!