My Name Is Carrie Belle

One day Carrie Belle  sat by her mother's soft and furry paws and listened to her tell stories about her mother and her grandmother. She told stories about her great grandmother cat as well. One day she asked her mother how she knew so much about their ancestors. Her mama said, "Well, a long long time ago there was a professor in our family. A professor is very smart and teaches grown up cats what he or she knows. There are human professors also from what I understand. He once had heard his great grandfather tell that there was an old woman who lived in England that was somehow related to the King of England. He wanted to know more because he thought it would give him more prestige at the academy to be a royal cat. After some digging on his computer he actually found a picture of the cottage where the old lady lived. It had lots of flowers and even had a picture of a cat."

"The way I was told by my mama was that the old woman's cat was actually a kitten of a litter that belonged to the King many many years ago."

Carrie Belle was so excited. "So I am a royal cat? How exciting is that? But shouldn't we be eating better food than mice? The treats that our lady gives us are good, but I think we should be eating shrimp even lobster. I thought royalty meant that you were rich and could eat well and have everything you wanted." Carrie Belle's mama cat laughed and said, "Well, in every family there seems to be a bad apple." 

"What do you mean, Mama?" Well, we had an ancestor that was mean as a snake and not a bit nice. He certainly wasn't very mannerly. He yowled and howled and kept the humans up at all hours of the night. They called him a barn cat. He had to live in a barn and was only fed now and then. The humans wanted him to run away and take his family with him because he was so noisy and mean."

"So you mean we are part of that mean family?" 

"Yes we are, but we don't have to be mean. We can be sweet and loving just like you are, my child."

"Mama, didn't you tell me about our grandmother, Jeannette? Wasn't she mean?" Carrie Belle's mama chuckled and said, "The only reason she was mean was that where she lived there was a little girl that liked to hold her and play with her. The problem was she carried her with her hands around her neck!"

"Oh, I wouldn't like that either. What ever happened to our grandmother? Where did she live? Did we live there too?"

"Oh my, little one aren't you just full of questions today. It's a rainy cloudy day so I have time to tell you a story. The young woman that lived on the farm was beautiful. She grew up and moved away. After several years she and her husband moved back to that very same farm and lived there for many years. Yes, we lived there too for a time. In fact she was the lady that had a little girl that carried your grandma around by the neck."

"Then what happened, Mama?" Carrie Belle's mama laughed and said, "You happened, my dear. Oh my you were a handful when you were little. Out on the farm near the kitchen door to their house there was a little building or shed that they used for coal to keep their house warm. One day you discovered that there were lots and lots of baby mice that lived in there. You didn't tell a soul that they were in there. You were going to eat them all and not share with your brothers and sister. That lady's little boy was just a little tyke and decided he'd go in that shed and look around. Well, you didn't want him to scare away your dinner so you jumped up on him and scared all of those baby mice. There must have been a dozen of them."

"Then what happened, Mama?" 

"That's when the fun began. All of those baby mice ran up that little boy's pant legs and half tickled him to death. He started to dance a jig and holler worse than that old barn cat did years ago. Well the lady came running out the door and just like that she seemed to know where those baby mice were. She pulled down his little overalls and those mice started to run for their lives. Well, you weren't going to have it and you started the chase of your life. You got in between that little boy's legs and his mama started yelling for you to 'get' and what a commotion it was."

"I did all of that? I guess I was a handful. I'm sorry Mama." 

"Don't be silly. All children give their parents a run for their money, or in your case mice. Someday you will have a litter of kittens and you will know what I'm talking about."

Later on that afternoon a young woman picked her up and said, "Guess what, Carrie Belle, you and your mama are going to new homes. You are such a lucky little cat. I'll miss you, but I can't have any cats where I'm moving to. You will be just fine. You are going to live on a farm. Won't that be exciting? I don't have anyone to take your mama yet. Hopefully she will go someplace nice too."

Before she knew it, Carrie Belle was in a box with holes and riding in a car to her new home. She was so scared. Where was her mama? She had always lived with her mama. What was she going to do?

The car had stopped and a man took the box she was in out of the car. Here you go cat. Get to the barn and earn your keep. There's enough mice and rats to keep you fat and happy. She watched as the man walked over to the house. She didn't really know what a barn was. It was probably one of those big buildings. She decided to walk over to the first one she saw. She was so thirsty. She hoped there would be water for her to drink. She heard a growl and quick as a fox she ran as fast as she could. There stood the biggest dog that she had ever seen in her life!  She found herself high up in the barn. It was full of straw and comfortable. She peeked over the edge of the loft and that big dog was still standing there. "Well, he will eventually get tired of barking at me and leave me alone. The first chance I get I'm going to leave and see if I can't find a nice place to live that doesn't have a dog!"

During the night Carrie Belle would hear strange noises that scared her so she didn't sleep well. The next morning she jumped down from her perch and landed safely onto a bale of hay. She quietly walked to the front and looked around. She didn't see that big dog so she took off running as fast as she could.

She ran until she got tired. She was constantly looking for that mean dog. After some time Carrie Belle realized that she was safe. She started to take it easy and decided that she would make her new life an adventure. If some of the stories her mama had told her she would have some fun along the way. Maybe there were other children that she could play tricks on. It seemed like forever since she had had a drink of water or even a tiny mouse to eat. She was getting so tired. She had found herself in a small town. Surely there would be something to eat if she looked hard enough. It started to rain. Her fur was getting all wet and it was so dark outside. What was she going to do? She decided to look on the bright side of things and lapped up some of the rain water. Oh it was so good. Now if she could only find something to eat. It was so dark.

As Carrie Belle walked the tiny bell that was on her collar would tinkle. There was a border collie dog whose name was Bandit that heard that sound from inside his house. Right away he knew that there was a cat outside. He barked and barked wanting his human to let him outside. He would chase that cat far far away from his house. He did not like cats of any size shape or color!

Bandit's human said to quit his barking. It was raining and cold outside He needed to go to bed and be a good dog. 

Carrie Belle had jumped when she heard a dog bark and started running as fast as she could. She ran until she was too tired to run any more. She ran across a field where there were horses. They were big and scared her. It seemed like she was scared all the time. She missed her home and her mama. The field mice watched her as she struggled to get up to chase them. They made fun of her and squeaked, "Catch us if you can, old scrawny cat!" She finally found a place to lay down and slept for awhile. When she woke up she was almost too tired to walk any more. She was so tired and thirsty. There were weeds stuck to her fur. She tried to get them out with her paws and her tongue, but wasn't able to. It was so hot. There weren't any trees or water anywhere. She just had to sleep.

                                                                            *******

"It's okay little one. Here's some water. Open your mouth. You are going to be alright. We will take care of you." Carrie Belle felt herself being lifted and carried in a human's arms. She was too tired to open her eyes, but somehow she just knew everything would be alright. She thought maybe she would try to purr. 

"Yes! Allie said, She's going to be alright! Let's get her some blankets and make her a bed. This poor thing looks like she has traveled a hundred miles. Her little paws are all red and her fur is matted. We will need to check her for ticks and fleas. Oh Josh, look at this poor little cat. Do you think she is going to be alright? Do you think that the outside cat will get along with her? Maybe I should keep her in the house for awhile at least. Oh you poor thing. What shall I call you? Josh, this dumping of animals around here just has to stop. Will you go to the meeting in town with me next week? Some of the ranch hands are going. There must be something we can do." 

Carrie Belle once more felt some water being dropped into her mouth. "My name is Carrie Belle, lady human. I'm Carrie Belle. Please take care of me."