The Story Game

Thought we should start a new story for a new forum, so here goes:

Early one morning a little black kitten named Bitsy was startled from her sleep by a loud crash, only to find her mom and siblings had vanished. Frightened, she hid under a bush until she heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her hiding place.............

Peeking out, she saw a big (or, rather, big to her) pair of tennis shoes coming closer and closer to her little hidey bush. They stopped, and suddenly Bitsy found herself staring eye to eye into a small, curious face.

Bitsy was frightened but curious, so she didn't run but only sat there staring into the face of a little girl. The little girl reached for her........

............she hissed and swatted at the hand. Bitsy tried to run away from the hand only to find out that.....

..........the little girl was faster. She scooped Bitsy up and held her close, gently whispering into Bitsy's ear that everything was okay. After a few minutes of struggling Bitsy calmed down and then looked up into the girls' face.

"What are you doing here all alone? Where is your mom?" the little girl asked her. Bitsy could only purr lightly, feeling safe in the warmth of the little girls' arms.

There was a little whimper from Bitsy and made no attempt to escape. The little girl took the whimper as a clue that Bitsy had been separated from her mom.

"Gosh, little kitten, what are you doing all the way out here in these remote fields all alone?" asked the little girl as she snuggled the tiny purring kitten. "Well, since you're all alone here, I think I'd better take you home with me." The little girl tucked the kitten into the crook of her arm and started the long walk back over the fields. Looking down at the sweet little face she said, "What's your name, little one? How did you come here? I wish you could talk to me." The kitten looked up at the little girl, opened her mouth, and spoke...

.......in a tiny little voice, "My name is Bitsy. I don't know where my mom and my brothers and sisters went, they were here with me last night when I fell asleep." Bitsy started to cry a bit and curled up closer into the little girls arm.
"Don't worry Bitsy, you can come live with me and you'll never be alone again." said the little girl. By this time she was nearly across the field. Off in the distance you could see a farmhouse.......

.........with some activity. When the little girl came to the farmhouse, the little girl's mom noticed what she had. "Where did you find the kitten?" asked the mom in a serious tone. The little girl told the truth. The mom did notice that she got the truth and was hesitant about what to do.

"Well, since you didn't find her mom or siblings, they must've moved on. I suppose you can keep her IF you take responsibility for taking care of her. You can start with setting up a litterpan for her and show her where it is. I hope she knows how to use one." the little girls' mother said.

"Oh I will take good care of her mom!" the little girl said, hurrying off to the house to set up a litterpan, and get some bowls for food and water for her too. "You can sleep with me in my bed Bitsy." she said.

She settled Bitsy in, and showed her where everything was. Bitsy had some trouble getting up the stairs, they were so far apart and she was so little it took a bit of effort for her to get upstairs. After a short rest at the top of the stairs, Bitsy wandered around exploring her new home. In one room there was an old man, sitting in a chair by the window. Bitsy walked over to him and mewed in her most polite little voice, looking up hopefully.

"Hello there Little One," the old man said as he reached for Bitsy. She let him pick her up and set her on his chest, holding her close. " where did you come from? It's been a long time since I last held a cute kitten like you." Bitsy started purring for him.

Then the little girl came into the room and told the story of the kitten. The old man said, "I do know someone whose cat just passed away. I can inquire if he still has the cat toys and all." The little girl said, "I would appreciate if you did."

After the little girl left to finish her chores, the Grandfather sat there for a long time rocking and holding Bitsy, gently stroking her soft fur. Bitsy was so relaxed she fell asleep on his chest. He hated to disturb her, so he sat there quietly until his daughter called him down to dinner. He gently placed Bitsy on the bed, and started to leave the room only to find Bitsy right there at his feet following him. Chuckling a bit, he told her she might as well come along and get her dinner too. Down the stairs they both slowly came, he from the stiffness of arthritis, she from being so small the steps were almost too far apart. The little girl joined them at the bottom of the stairs and scooped Bitsy up in her arms. After showing her where the food and water bowl was in the kitchen, her mom told her to hurry and wash up so they could eat.

The little girl complied and came back quickly. Everyone sat down and passed the food around the table. The little girl wondered out loud if she should give people food to Bitsy. Her grandfather immediately said no and explained why. The little girl didn't quite understand, but she obeyed her grandfather. "Is there anything I can give her as a special treat?" asked the little girl. "When I ask about the cat supplies, I will also ask what treats can be given that is safe for Bitsy." replied the grandfather.

"I don't think a tiny bit of chicken will hurt her," said the mom, putting a small piece into Bitsy's bowl. "Cats are carnivores after all and need a lot of meat in their diet."

Bitsy ate the sliver of chicken with little bites, and mewed her thanks. She also showed the mom how much she liked it by rubbing all over her ankles purring. "You certainly found a friendly little kitten." she remarked as she bent to stroke Bitsy.

"You really shouldn't do that at the table, that only encourages her to beg Daughter." said the Grandfather.

After dinner they all went into the livingroom. The Grandfather sat in his chair to read the newspaper, the mom sat with her mending, and the little girl was doing her homework at the coffee table. Bitsy made the rounds, going from one person to the next, to see what they were doing.

Finally, Bitsy jumped on the coffee table and laid down next to the homework. The mom started to throw a fit when the little girl said, "I think she wants to be near me or it may be her way of helping me doing my homework."

"But she shouldn't be on the coffee table, next thing you know she'll be on the kitchen table and the countertops." said her mom.
"Sorry Bitsy, you have to stay off the table. Here, sit on my lap instead." said the little girl moving Bitsy to her lap.

Bitsy finally settled down in the little girl's lap. When the homework was done, Bitsy followed the little girl to the stairs. The little girl was halfway up the stairs when she heard cries only to see Bitsy at the bottom struggling to climb the stairs. The little girl went to get Bitsy and carried her to the bedroom.

"Thank you," purred Bitsy as the little girl gently deposited her on the bed. "Those stairs are so tall!"

"You're welcome," answered the little girl as she turned to find her jammies. Then she turned back and looked at the kitten. "You talk to me," she said. "You really talk to me! I didn't just imagine it."

"Of course I talk to you," said Bitsy. "I talk to everyone."

"Yes, but I can understand you!" said the little girl, coming to sit beside the kitten on the bed. "When we were downstairs with the family, all I heard were mews and purrs, but now I hear your words. How is that possible?"

"I don't know," said Bitsy sleepily. "Does it matter? Your mother seemed to know I wanted some chicken, and your grandfather has a nice warm heart in his chest. Are we going to sleep now?"

The little girl slowly got into bed and snuggled next to the sleeping kitten. "This is very strange," she thought as she fell asleep.

When the little girl woke up the next morning Bitsy was gone. The spot where she'd been was still warm so she hadn't been gone for very long. The little girl went looking for Bitsy, to find her walking out of her grandfathers room.

"Where did you go? I woke up and you were gone." said the little girl.

"I had to use the litterpan, and decided to check on the family while I was out and about. They're my family now same as you, I wanted to be sure they were okay." Bitsy answered. "Is it time for breakfast yet? I'm hungry."

"Yes, it's time to eat. I don't want to develop the habit of always feeding you people food. I don't mind you checking it out. It's really better for you to stick with cat food. Once in awhile I may be able to feed you a little bit of people food." said the little girl. "Okay, I'll try not to beg all the time for you food." said Bitsy. The little girl went to the kitchen followed by Bitsy.

"How is Grandfather, by the way," said the little girl as she prepared breakfast for Bitsy (and, incidentally, for herself). "I haven't seen him yet this morning. Is he well? Did you speak to him?"

Bitsy said nothing until she had nommed her breakfast and sat, purring and washing her face while the little girl finished her porridge. "He was well enough, I suppose," she mused. "He was still snoring when I left him. Hoo, that old man can snore! I was thinking to catch a nap with him, but he was too loud!" Bitsy mewed a little noise that might have been laughter! "He has a good, kind, strong heart," she continued, "but there is something wrong." Bitsy gave ther tail a few swift, irritated licks, then sat up straight and said to the girl, "I think he is troubled."

"I know, he misses grandma and my dad. They were very close. My dad was driving grandma to a doctor's appointment in town when a big truck hit them." said the little girl, looking very sad. "I miss them a lot too. Grandpa is worried about how we'll pay all the bills and do the farmwork so we can stay here." Bitsy cuddled with the little girl, trying to comfort her.

The little girl spent some time with Bitsy before doing dishes. Then they went to the little girl's room so she can make her bed.

Bitsy "helped" make the bed by lying down in the middle of it, and playfully swatting at the little girls hands and purring loudly. As much as she was laughing, the little girl wanted to get ready for bedtime. "Now Bitsy, please stop that so I can get the bed made. I have to go to school very early today." said the little girl.

Bitsy laid on the little girls' pillow so the little girl could fix the blankets. The little girl then picked her up, placed and extra pillow on the bed next to hers. "You can sleep here on this pillow if you want." she told her.